from Crikey ….

The $800-a-night pokies habit and paying the ultimate price

Crikey journalist Tom Cowie writes:

ATMS, POKIES, PRE-COMMITMENT FOR POKIES

For 10 years Tracy Smith's* sister Julie was visiting up to four or five poker machine venues a week in a country Victorian town. At these pubs and clubs, Julie would withdraw $100 from the ATM to play the pokies, sometimes taking out $800 a night. The family didn't know she had a gambling addiction until Julie took her own life four weeks ago. She was 51.

"She was gambling everything as soon as her pay would come in," said Tracy, who requested her and Julie's name be kept private to protect her family. "We were appalled. My sister's pattern was to keep taking out $100-150 and they just can't stop. They can't stop until the money's gone."

Julie was a normal person, says Tracy. She held a job, but didn't have a partner. Tracy says she may have started playing the pokies to avoid loneliness. The venues were safe and served tea and coffee; there were other women there her age.

Julie did complain of money problems and sometimes asked for help, but Tracy says she usually had a story to go with it like car troubles or a house break-in. Aside from a few suspicions, Julie was able to cover up where she was spending her weekly wage. She wasn't a dishonest person, says Tracy, but was consumed by the addiction. It was like she was leading two lives.

"There's so much guilt, so much shame that they can't talk to their families about it," she said. "All the family knows is 'oh, she's doing it kind of hard'. There's only so much prying you can do before you step over the line and it affects your relationship."

Tracy says there are several measures that could have been taken to protect Julie. One of those is availability of funds, particularly inside gaming venues. Last month, the Victorian government enacted a ban on ATMs in poker machine venues, saying it would prevent problem gamblers from easy access to money.

But that won't mean the end of cash withdrawals in poker machine venues. A new service called "POSconnect", which acts like cash out through an eftpos machine but where the customers collect their own money, has been installed in venues across Victoria. The machine fits within the government's regulations.

Gaming minister Michael O'Brien says POSconnect and other cash-out services mean problem gamblers are forced to interact with a staff member to take out money. He says this offers a chance for staff to step in if a gambler needs help.

"This provides opportunities for breaks in play and for venue staff to offer assistance where a patron is showing signs of distress relating to their gambling," said a government spokesperson. "This was not the case with anonymous, in-venue ATM withdrawals."

Gaming expert Charles Livingstone, from Monash University's school of public health and preventive medicine, says there is some chance staff interaction will help inhibit problem gamblers taking out large amounts of money, but he adds that this has been undermined by a lack of daily limits.

In 2010, ATMs in gaming venues were restricted to only offering limits of $200 per transaction and $400 per 24-hour period. Eftpos has the same $200 transaction threshold, but its daily ceiling is set by the person's bank, not the regulator.

Usually banks set withdrawal limits on eftpos at $1000, but that figure can be raised. Commonwealth Bank customers, for example, can log on to NetBank and change their limit within minutes to $2000.

"It is making the sky the limit as to how much you can take out of your account," says Livingstone. "It's one step forward and two steps back and it sort of makes a mockery of the notion of what this ban was intended to do. It has been circumvented by the clubs and the manufacturers of the machine."

Hospitality group ALH, which controls more than 5000 poker machines across Victoria, has already installed POSconnect in each of its venues. David Curry, spokesperson for ALH, declined to answer questions about its operation, telling Crikey the "system is approved for operation and meets all the requirements of regulation".

But Tracy Smith is sceptical staff will intervene and tell a problem gambler to stop using cash-out services. She says Julie would have been well-known to venues around her country town, but nobody did anything about it until it was too late.

"It would have been a very stand-out case that she was a problem gambler, and nothing happened," said Tracy. "Over 10 years they would have seen her go in week in, week out. Two or three nights a week doing this and no alarm bells rang."

Livingstone agrees: "Put yourself in the shoes of a staff member, having to tell management that they've stopped someone taking out large amounts of money. Certainly there is some evidence that talking to a person inhibits what they spend but there is also no doubt that those who are in the grip of gambling problem and can access cash, will do that."

Some venues have already taken to prominently advertising the new POSconnect service. One Melbourne venue visited by Crikey had a series of signs explaining the new service, including large pull-up banners and beer mats on the bar. There were no signs in the gaming area, but customers could use an old ATM which would then send their request to a staff member.

Tracy says social workers inside venues and a form of pre-commitment may have helped her sister beat her addiction. She thinks problem gamblers need a legislated limit on their spending otherwise they'll find ways around it.

"That is the key, what is going to get them help. What is going to alert them to actually rehabilitate their addiction before they find that its so hopeless that they take their life? When someone's got a gambling addiction they're not rational. They'll try any way to get money out," she said

"And I'm not saying it wouldn't have progressed like it has, but at least you've got a chance. Nothing's worth taking your life."

*Tracy's and her sister's names have been changed at her request. For help or information visit beyondblue.org.au, call Lifeline on 131 114 or visit this page for a detailed list of support services.