"Heartbreak lives of pokie addicts"

Two weekends ago, a phone-in was help in South Australia and Victoria for people with concerns or experiences about the pokies. (See previous post Gambling Watch Phone-Ins in two Australian States)

Sunday's Adelaide Sunday Mail recently published an article detailing some of the calls received to the phone in in South Australia. The article is republished in full and makes sobering reading.

Sunday Mail (SA), Page 032 (Sun 28 Nov 2004)
Heartbreak lives of pokie addicts

With heated debate raging among MPs over moves to cut by 3000 the number of poker machines in the state - the legislation is due back before the House of Assembly - desperate South Australians rang a hotline organised by No Pokies MLC Nick Xenophon last weekend to reveal how the pokies have devastated their lives. Here are some of their harrowing stories.

A FEMALE has gone for up to a week without food and has thought of prostitution and even bank robbery to fund her gambling - or suicide as a way out. She gambles whenever she has money, with her biggest one-off loss being $1200. In total, she has gambled away more than $20,000. She says she takes risks she normally would not - such as driving an unregistered car. She is receiving counselling from a psychologist. The woman has an 87-year-old friend who gambled $30,000 after her husband died and had a stroke ``from shock'' when she received her bank statement.

A MALE gambler says he has lost $1 million on pokies over the past nine years - including three houses. He says he started drinking alcohol when his pokie gambling began and blames the pokie points scheme and the fact there are ATMs at venues that allow gamblers to draw out $200 at a time, as many times as they like.

A REFORMED gambler who had a 25-year addiction which cost him two marriages says he would be at venues day and night. On one occasion, he spent his disability pension and his wife's pension in a night. He was attracted by the jackpot hour, double-the-money promotions, and so on.

THE WIFE of a gambler says their marriage is on the rocks because he has lost $100,000 and has had to sell their business. She says he would use his children's money to pay bills and even put their money through the pokies. Her husband suffers from depression compounded by addiction and the fact they have lost everything.

MALE says he would spend 80 per cent of his income on pokies - up to $800 or more at a time.

A 50-YEAR-OLD reformed gambler says she spent time in jail because she defrauded her own company for pokies money, losing a total of $100,000. She was fined and jailed for 18 months in 2001.

MALE gambler who says he has lost $10,000 says he drinks alcohol and smokes continually while he gambles. He began gambling two years ago because he was bored and says he now faces a jail term because he owes $10,000 to Centrelink. He says inducements when he joined the club scheme included getting 15 free spins.

A MALE says his life has been ruined by gambling - he lost his job, his girlfriend and his self-esteem. He says hotels would ring him to get him to come in and gamble if they had not seen him for a while.

MALE problem gambler says he spends his whole pension on pokies and to date has lost about $400,000. In one 12-day stretch he lost $9000. He says the pokies became a problem for him seven years ago.

FEMALE pokies player says she will gamble any time of the day or night. She uses a credit card to get cash to gamble and now owes $1000 on the card. She has been gambling for about 18 months, but it has been a problem only for the past year. She says venues encourage her to play with $5 pokie coins and with prizes, spin wheel and raffles.

A JUSTICE of the Peace who owns a country fodder/stock store says since gambling became so popular, many people can no longer afford to buy food for their animals and stock. He also owns a petrol station and says people are buying $4 worth of petrol and not $5 so they can keep a gold coin for the pokies.

A CALLER'S 27-year-old daughter has a pokies addiction and gambles all her available money every week. She has lost up to $80,000 in seven years. While gambling, she drinks and smokes, which is also seen as a problem. She is a member of a loyalty scheme and receives vouchers and other gambling inducements on her birthday.

A FEMALE gambler who spends between $80 and $150 each visit has lost a total of about $150,000 and says she has been suicidal and has had to sell her house. She has reached the limit on her four credit cards and her relationship with her daughter has become strained. In total, she has probably lost about $150,000. She says she is given free soft drinks and food at venues. Her biggest single loss was $500.

A WOMAN who quit gambling in a pact with her sister three weeks ago says her losses are about $50,000 - ``easily that much'' - and she has run up $30,000 in credit card debts. Initially she gambled while her children were at school, but later also left them at home so she could gamble. She says she spent an average of $1000 a week on the pokies, with her biggest one-day loss being $2000. She used ATMs at pokies venues to withdraw money. She says she has gambled all her adult life, but it only became a problem when she used to meet her mother at the casino during the 1990s.

A MALE, 38, who gambles after work - and has been gambling for five years - says he has lost about $160,000, with the biggest one-day loss being $1500. He uses ATMs and telephone banking to get access to money. He says if ATMs were not in pokie venues he would physically have to leave the premises to get money and would be more likely to come to his senses. Married with three children, he suffers depression as a result of his addiction.

A MOTHER tells of her 30-year-old son who is a problem gambler but won't seek help even though he now is struggling to pay off his home as a result. She estimates his losses are at least $100 a week and she now holds his credit cards. The problem developed about five years ago when he broke up with his fiancee.

A MALE who spends all he has on pokies and has been gambling since pokies were introduced has lost $100,000, with the biggest amount at one sitting being $2000. He says he smokes and drinks while playing, and this exacerbates the problem. The man uses ATMs at venues and says the music and advertising that shows pictures of machines are what lure him to venues.

A MAN says his son gambles his pension, along with large amounts of his father's own salary, which he gives to his son on request. He says his son, who has mental problems and is undergoing counselling, has lost between $20,000 and $30,000.

THE husband of a gambler who has lost $30,000 since she started gambling on pokies in November 2002 says his wife has used ATMs at venues. He says she has resorted to pawning jewellery to get gambling money. The husband says he wrote to pawn brokers to stop them from accepting her goods, but their lawyers said there was nothing they could do because of privacy laws.

ONE caller's sister is a gambler who began playing the pokies three years ago. He says his sister and her partner have reached the limit on 10 credit cards and believes the total amount lost is about $300,000. He says his sister had to sell her house to pay the debts. The caller said his sister would find all sorts of creative ways to raise money to use for her gambling.

A FEMALE gambler says she has lost about $30,000 on the pokies since her marriage breakdown four years ago. She says she uses an ATM at pokie venues to obtain money to gamble with and has pawned items in the past to fund her gambling. Offers such as shop-a-dockets, meals, loyalty schemes and extra cash in the gaming room are enticing, although she says she has never used them. The woman is presently receiving counselling from her doctor.

A CALLER says his disabled brother is a gambler and has lost $15,000 in four years on the pokies. The man says his brother is on a disability pension but is financially inept and has spent his entire pension on the pokies at one particular venue. He said inducements included meat tray raffles and the J card program.

ONE caller says her husband is a gambler who has lost $10,000 on the pokies in six years. She believes her husband's Parkinson's disease and the medication he takes contributes to his gambling addiction. The caller said her husband used to use a credit card to get money for gambling but now used ATMs at pokies venues.

THE wife of a gambler who plays the pokies at the local pubs says her husband started gambling three years ago. The couple has three children aged under four. She says her husband plays the pokies day and night, and is unsure how much money he spends - maybe a few hundred a week. She says her husband uses a credit card to gamble and even stole her card. He also uses an ATM at the venue. The caller said her husband lost his job at a bank, their car was almost repossessed and they are behind in rent payments.

A CALLER says his housemate gambles in the morning and spends $200 to $400 each time. He says while she gambles she drinks alcohol and smokes. While not certain if alcohol is provided free to her, the caller says he believes alcohol accelerates her spending. He says she uses ATMs at the venues to obtain money to gamble.

A BREAKDOWN and five days in hospital has not stopped one gambler from hitting the pokies, a concerned friend says. The friend says the gambler, who spends $300 to $400 a week, lost $500 in a day. The caller says she has been gambling for up to six years and uses a credit card and ATM at the venue to obtain money. The caller mentions another person, with children, who loses their pension on the pokies and then tries to borrow money.

AFTER her children go off to school, one caller says, she goes from one venue to another, spending between $5 and $500, with the most she has lost in one day being $500. She says it made her sick. The gambler says she has lost up to $30,000 and started playing the pokies after her son started school full-time. She says she uses a credit card to gamble, which led to her going bankrupt two years ago. She also uses ATMs at the venues.

For help with gambling or gambling-related problems, call Gambling Helpline, 8363 8636; Uniting Care Wesley Adelaide, 8202 5111; Anglicare SA, 8256 2170; Intensive Therapy Service for Problem Gamblers, Flinders Medical Centre, 8204 4779; Relationships Australia, 8223 4144 or 1800 182 325; Multicultural Break Even Service, 8245 8100

These are stories that are published to ensure that the public is aware of the impact of problem gambling. However for someone that works in the field these are not the exceptions to the rule, unfortunately they are the norm.

Gambling has devastating effects on the individuals, families and the wider community. Everything that can be done to reduce the harm from gambling should be done. It is time to put people before profits.

GG