Clubs and gaming
Most of the services that clubs provide are supported by their ability to offer gaming to their patrons.
The fact is that ACT clubs have provided gaming for more than thirty years in a responsible and highly regulated way.
Canberra is the only jurisdiction in Australia where gaming is still largely owned and controlled through community-based clubs - a privilege that clubs acknowledge carries with it responsibilities.
Canberra has not experienced the explosion in gaming that has characterised NSW, Victoria, South Australia or Queensland in the past 10 to 15 years.
Canberra’s community based gaming model is something the ACT can be proud of and is a model that other states look on with envy. In fact this is a situation that we believe the other jurisdictions would be more than happy to return to.
Clubs understand their responsibility to the community - they are prepared to play a leadership role, anticipate change and take pro-active measures to provide their gaming services in a professional and responsible manner in keeping community expectations.
Responsible Gambling
Every club that operates poker machines takes the responsibility that comes with that very seriously. The vast majority of people who play poker machines use them responsibly, however there are a small number of people (0.5% of the ACT adult population) who gamble beyond their means. Nationally, the prevalence rates of problem gambling have halved in the last ten years to an average of 0.4% of the adult population.
A range of measures are in place to help prevent people becoming problem gamblers and to assist those for whom gambling has become a problem.
Many club staff are trained in the Responsible Conduct of Gambling and there are Gambling Contact Officers in each club venue. There is also a wide range of information displayed in club venues to ensure patrons are aware of the risks of problem gambling and where to go to seek help.
Clubs also maintain a register of patrons who have identified as a problem gambler and have nominated to ‘exclude’ themselves from the venue and access to the poker machines. The information maintained by one club is shared with every other club so people who are excluded from one venue cannot access any other venue.
All clubs in the ACT also contribute 0.6% of Net Gaming Machine Revenue (NGMR) to the ACT Problem Gambling Fund. Mission Australia was recently selected to provide a range of problem gambling services and support and will be funded entirely through the financial contribution from clubs.
Clubs believe there should be a multi-faceted approach to problem gambling - recognising that it is a human problem requiring a human solution. ClubsACT supports sensible, effective and evidence-based approaches to dealing with problem gambling.
Clubs Australia’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into gambling contains useful information about the industries position.