Local Northern Territory charity and anti-gambling organizations said that they have been sent numerous requests for their opinion on the recent increase in the number of applications for additional pokies at local clubs and pubs.
The considerable spike was first registered in July when Minister Peter Styles, who is responsible for the gaming matters in the Territory, announced that the seven-year-long cap on poker machines would be lifted. Prior to that, licensed clubs and pubs located within Australia’s Northern Territory were permitted to feature no more than 1190 pokies.
Bernie Dwyer, CEO of Amity Community Services, a non-government organization working with people with problem gambling behavior and other addiction-related health issues, said that they have received so many requests to respond to the growing number of poker machines license applications that the charity community could only provide a general opinion on the matter.
Other similar organizations around the Northern Territory have decided not to comment on the issue as such statements have often been edited prior to being released to the general public. A spokesperson for the Director General of Gambling Licensing explained that such redactions have been made mainly out of privacy and commercial considerations.
Amity’s statement, however, was among the few that did not undergo any editing and its complete version was published. The organization based its response to a local survey, conducted back in 2006. The said study found that about 90% of the Northern Territory residents believed that the number of poker machines should have been reduced or should have stayed the same.
Separate studies have been carried out for the venues that featured pokies and according to Amity, their results were designed in a manner that would “create a certain outcome.” Some respondents from the organization even called the questionnaires biased.
Mr. Dwyer told local media that independent studies need to be conducted so that local officials could understand the current attitude of the locals towards the increase in the number of pokies in the Territory. The Amity CEO also noted that residents were not particularly well-informed about the manner in which such an increase would affect local economy and the well-being of the community.
