Con-free poker machines? There's a 'fresh' idea
Woolworths is the largest operator of pokies in Australia – with more poker machines than the top five Las Vegas casinos combined.
The "Fresh Food People" would have us believe they're looking out for our wellbeing – while they reap millions in profits from poker machines.
Woolies execs are meeting in Sydney next week to talk fleeing customers and plummeting share prices at their Annual General Meeting (AGM). So they're especially vulnerable to public pressure right now.
Will you join tens of thousands of Australians by signing the petition calling for con-free machines, which we'll deliver at Thursday's AGM?
As the majority shareholder in the Australian Leisure and Hospitality (ALH) Group, Woolies operate 328 licensed venues across Australia. Woolworths operates over 12,000 poker machines in these Woolies-owned hotels. This makes Woolworths Australia's largest owner of poker machines.
Find it hard to believe? Here's a screenshot from the FAQ section of the Woolworths Limited website:
In 2012, GetUp members chipped in to fund a report that estimated the total net gambling revenue generated by Woolies poker machines in 2010-11 at $1.29 billion.
Woolies have not been forthcoming with reporting their profits from poker machines:
Find it hard to believe? Here's a screenshot from the FAQ section of the Woolworths Limited website:
In 2012, GetUp members chipped in to fund a report that estimated the total net gambling revenue generated by Woolies poker machines in 2010-11 at $1.29 billion.
Woolies have not been forthcoming with reporting their profits from poker machines:
Industry whistleblowers broke the silence on poker machines this year, in explosive documentary Ka-Ching! Pokie Nation. Ka-Ching! went inside the machines to show how addictive technologies are used to keep people playing well beyond their means.
For too long the pokies industry has deflected attention away from its machines, targeting the "irresponsible gamblers" who play them.
Here are some of the tricks that were exposed by industry insiders in Ka-Ching!:
For too long the pokies industry has deflected attention away from its machines, targeting the "irresponsible gamblers" who play them.
Here are some of the tricks that were exposed by industry insiders in Ka-Ching!:
- Poker machines are custom built for "process addiction". The machines trigger positive chemical responses in the brain with features such as sound, light and animation. Neuroscientists compared these responses to those triggered by cocaine.
- Poker machines manipulate the user through techniques like "losses disguised as wins". This is when a user is fed some winning lines, which are celebrated as a win with bright lights and loud noises, when they've actually experienced a net loss.
- Another misleading and deceptive technique is the use of "near misses", where the reel of the machine is laid out to mislead the user into thinking they've only just missed out on a win. These appear on some machines 13 times more often than they would if the reels were left to chance.
GetUp members are working with Tim Costello and the Alliance for Gambling Reform on 'The Pokies Play You' campaign.
The Alliance is a collaboration of organisations with a shared concern about the deeply harmful and unfair impacts of gambling. It includes more than 40 local governments, churches and community groups. GetUp is joining forces with the Alliance for Gambling Reform on 'The Pokies Play You' campaign.
Together, we intend to hold to account the people who make, control and regulate these machines – from Woolworths, the largest poker machine owner in the country, to government ministers, many of whom sit cosily in the pockets of the gaming industry.
Follow this link to learn more about 'The Pokies Play You' campaign and the Alliance for Gambling Reform: http://www.pokiesplayyou.org.au/
The Alliance is a collaboration of organisations with a shared concern about the deeply harmful and unfair impacts of gambling. It includes more than 40 local governments, churches and community groups. GetUp is joining forces with the Alliance for Gambling Reform on 'The Pokies Play You' campaign.
Together, we intend to hold to account the people who make, control and regulate these machines – from Woolworths, the largest poker machine owner in the country, to government ministers, many of whom sit cosily in the pockets of the gaming industry.
Follow this link to learn more about 'The Pokies Play You' campaign and the Alliance for Gambling Reform: http://www.pokiesplayyou.org.au/
WILL YOU ADD YOUR NAME?
Australians deserve con-free poker machines, that aren't designed to addict or rigged to lose over time. Get the pokies con out of our communities and our politics.
Last signed by:
Richard
From Alexandria, NSW
Pokies took away the livelihood of a friend so quickly. After we left school, he would go and gamble and soon he ended up with debts to all his friends, including me. It’s a scourge that is just too dangerous to continue.
Ben
From Melbourne, VIC
I have always felt that poker machines are a blight on society. They bring no good other than misery and destruction. Having worked at the Salvation Army voluntarily, I have met many people who have fought this kind of addiction.
Lola
From Erskineville, NSW
My friend was the most balanced, intelligent human being I know. In two short years, she had lost her house to poker machines. It's very sad to see someone with such inner strength completely destroyed by pokies.
Bruce
From Sunshine Coast, QLD
It is the worst drain on people that cannot afford it and does nothing for the people in the community
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