Welcome to the latest issue of the Australasian Gaming Council (AGC) Newsletter where we provide a brief summary of current AGC activity and upcoming events.

To view the AGC website and check out the latest features, including our daily news updates, AGC publications and the latest gambling research, visit us at www.austgamingcouncil.org.au

Senator Xenophon to introduce Private Members' Bill on $1 EGM bets

Independent Senator for South Australia, Nick Xenophon, will introduce a Private Senator's Bill during the next sitting session to lower the maximum bet on any poker machine in Australia to $1. The move follows a recommendation contained in the Productivity Commission's draft report into Gambling, released last week.

Senate inquiry into online gambling seeks submissions

On 24 June 2010 the Senate referred an inquiry into the Prevalence of Interactive and Online Gambling in Australia to the Senate Community Affairs Committee for inquiry and report. The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations. Submissions should be received by 30 July 2010. The reporting date is 2 September 2010.

Reporting period for gambling related Bills from the Community Affairs Committee extended

The Community Affairs Legislation Committee has obtained agreement on the extension of time for the presentation of the report on the Poker Machine (Reduced Losses—Interim Measures) Bill 2009 and the Protecting Problem Gamblers Bill 2009 until October 28 2010.

VCGR lays 12 charges after kiosk seizure

Twelve charges have been laid by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) following the seizure of an alleged interactive betting kiosk. The VCGR took the kiosk from the Rising Sun Hotel in South Melbourne under a search warrant in August last year. The case is set for a mention hearing on 15 July 2010.

NSW Responsible Gambling Fund under review

The Director-General of Communities NSW, Carol Mills, has ordered an external review of the administrative and strategic support provided to the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund, with a final report due this month. A spokesman has reportedly advised that "the review will ensure the Responsible Gambling Fund trustees have appropriate levels of support to continue to carry out their important work in reducing gambling harm." The fund itself is not under review.

Star City denied additional EGMs

NSW Premier Kristina Keneally has ruled out a Star City request for an extra 1000 poker machines. In exchange for the additional machines Star City proposed to build a $65 million entertainment centre to attract major international acts.

Victoria appoints new Commissioner for Gambling Regulation

Victoria's Brumby Government has appointed Ches Baragwanath, previously a Victorian Auditor-General, as a Commissioner for Gambling Regulation.

Terms of Reference released for latest Tasmanian social and economic impact study

The Tasmanian State Government has released the terms of reference for the second social and economic impact study into gambling in Tasmania. Tasmanian Treasurer, Michael Aird, has said that under the Gaming Control Act 1993, an independent review of the social and economic impact of gambling in Tasmania would be conducted every three years. The final report is required to be tabled in Tasmanian Parliament by November 2011.

Queensland Parliament approves a single racing control body

Queensland Racing Minister Peter Lawlor has said that the amalgamation of Queensland Racing, Harness Racing Queensland and Greyhounds Queensland will open the way for more than $80 million in funding for capital investment offered to the industry by government. The legislation takes effect from 1 July 2010.

Henry Taxation Review and gambling related recommendations

On Sunday 2nd May 2010 the Federal Government released the final review on “Australia’s Future Tax System”. Also known as “The Henry Review”, this report made a total of 138 recommendations. The initial response of the Federal Government is to take up only a handful of these recommendations. Some recommendations pertaining to gambling were made in the final review. To date the government has indicated that the bulk of these recommendations may be subject to further consideration in coming months while a recommendation for new income tax arrangements for the Not-For-Profit sector is not likely to be implemented.

The full Report is available here. Discussion and recommendations on gambling can be located in Volume 2, Chapter E7.

Study finds no link between internet and gambling addictions

An Australian study of university students found no overlap between those reporting excessive Internet use and those with problem gambling. However, both behaviours have been associated with psychological issues such as depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.

Online poker tournaments not gambling, says New Zealand court

A New Zealand court has ruled that poker tournaments are not a form of gambling, but should instead be considered as competitions. This decision, and other rulings made by the court, could have far-reaching effects on the internet poker industry in New Zealand.

Federal Court ruling in race fields legislation case

Justice Nye Perram of the Federal Court of Australia has ruled in favour of corporate bookmaker Sportsbet’s claim that the 1.5 per cent turnover fee sought by Racing NSW for the use of racing fields was discriminatory. Justice Perram dismissed betting exchange Betfair’s application on the same issue. The court found that an arrangement between Racing NSW and the wagering operator in New South Wales was flawed in that the fee paid by the operator was ultimately refunded to the operator.

Genetic influences play important role in development of gambling disorders: Report

Genetic influences appear important in the development of gambling disorders in both women and men, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The authors of this report found that "the estimate of the proportion of variation in liability for disordered gambling due to genetic influences was 49.2 percent”.

Parkinson's treatment linked to problem gambling

A class action has been filed in the Federal Court claiming that medication, prescribed to alleviate tremors associated with Parkinson's disease, also caused risk taking behaviour and addiction. The drugs cited belong to a class of medications known as dopamine agonists - which some research has associated with a rise in impulse control disorders such as pathological gambling, compulsive shopping and binge eating.

Statistics show that sports betting is increasingly popular in Australia

Figures produced by IBISWorld analysts have shown that betting on sports has been the fastest-growing part of the gambling industry over the past five years, with Australians wagering a predicted $2.9 billion on matches and leagues in FY2009-10, compared to $1.6 billion in 2004-05. This represents annual average growth of 12 per cent, dwarfing the increase of 1.2 per cent on pokies spending and the 0.5 per cent growth on betting on horseracing. The increased popularity of online gambling is said to be one of the main factors behind the increase.

Gambling revenues fall in the United States

Visitors have been spending less in America’s commercial casinos. The American Gaming Association has reported that casino revenue declined 5.5 per cent nationwide in 2009 to US$30.74 billion. The worst market was in Atlantic City, the second-largest US gambling market after Las Vegas, where revenue fell 13.2 per cent from 2008.

Gamblers enjoy a 'near miss' almost as much as a win

Compulsive gamblers carry on making bets even when they are on a losing streak because a near miss rewards their brains almost as much as a win, claim UK scientists. Researchers found that the brains of problem gamblers react more intensely to near misses than casual gamblers. The University of Cambridge results could help explain what keeps problem gamblers betting even though they keep losing.

Problem gambling in adolescents: An examination of the pathways model
Gupta, Nower, Derevensky & Blaszczynski (2009)

This study, using a sample of 1,133 adolescents from Quebec and Ontario, sought to test the applicability of the Pathways Model proposed by Blaszczynski and Nower (2002) and Nower and Blaszczynski (2004) for adolescent problem gamblers, and if necessary, to refine or modify the model.

The relationship between crime and gaming expenditure in Victoria
Wheeler, Round & Wilson (2010)

This study investigates the relationship between gaming expenditure and crime in Victoria (especially income-generating crime). This research involved an extensive literature review and developed complex databases to model the relationship between crime and its various influences across three years in Victoria: 1996, 2001 and 2006.

Sex differences in the rates of recovery, treatment-seeking, and natural recovery in pathological gambling: Results from an Australian Community-Based Twin Survey
Slutske, Blaszczynski & Martin (2009-10)

The aim of this study was to estimate the rates of recovery, treatment-seeking, and natural recovery from pathological gambling (PG) in men and women in a community-based national survey, and to examine the role of gambling problem recognition in recovery from PG.

4,764 individuals from a community-based Australian national twin registry participated and were administered a structured psychiatric telephone interview. Findings included that women were more likely than men to recover from and to seek treatment for PG. Most individuals who recovered from PG did so without treatment, but this was form of recovery was higher among men than among women.

This is the first study to document sex differences in treatment-seeking and recovery from PG. These findings highlight the value in continuing to develop self-help and brief treatments for PG that will appeal to those who are unlikely to seek formal help.

Insight 2009: Play Information and Management Systems
Responsible Gambling Council (2009)

This final report of the Responsible Gambling Council of Canada's Centre for the Advancement of Best Practices details player management and information systems dealing with the concept of pre-commitment in a number of jurisdictions - including Australia. Comment is made on both the research and systems available.

2010 State of the States: The AGA Survey of Casino Entertainment
American Gaming Association (2010)

Included in the report are details of the national and state-by-state economic impact of commercial casinos, along with data examining the continued growth of the racetrack casino sector and the important economic contributions of the gaming equipment manufacturing sector. State of the States also offers an in-depth look at casino visitation and features polling data indicating that public acceptance of casino gaming remains high.

Qualitative Study into Machine Gamblers
Thompson, Hollings & Griffiths (2009)

This research from the UK Gambling Commission sought to understand player motivations for gaming machine play in the context of their gambling activity. It also explored the influence of structural Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) impacts on gambler behaviour, situational characteristics (e.g. influence of venue accessibility and availability of ATM's) as well as player attitudes to smartcards, spending limits and player tracking. The study involved interviews and focus groups with EGM patrons and had a sample size of 48 people.

All of the research above and over 4,000 additional articles, presentations and reports are available in the AGC eLibrary.

The AGC eLibrary allows for multiple search options and is a fast and efficient way to access the research knowledge base of the AGC. To access the AGC eLibrary please click here.

Final Inquiry Report

The Commonwealth Government, in line with the provisions of the Productivity Commission Act, released the Final Inquiry Report into Gambling on 23 June 2010. Released in two volumes, Volume 1 contains the Overview, Recommendations and Findings. Volume 2 contains Chapters 15 to 19 and the Appendices. Both Volumes can be downloaded from the Productivity Commission website. An order form is available for hard copies.

Federal Government Response

Following the release of the 2010 Productivity Commission Report into Gambling the relevant Ministers (Jenny Macklin – Minster for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Nick Sherry – Assistant Treasurer and Stephen Conroy – Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) issued a media release outlining the Federal Government’s response to report recommendations.

In its initial response the Australian Government has signalled that it supports the use of pre-commitment technology to tackle problem gambling and is committed to working with state/territory governments, and industry, in the implementation of pre-commitment.

The Australian Government did not agree with the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to amend the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 to allow for a liberalisation of online gambling.

The Australian Government indicated that it will now write to State and Territory Premiers and Chief Ministers to recommend the establishment of a new high-level Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Select Council of Ministers on Gambling Reform to progress a national approach to minimise the harm caused by problem gambling.

Please click here to access an electronic copy of the full media release and click here to access a transcript of the accompanying press conference.

AGC Media Release and Response

The AGC welcomed the Federal Government's response to the final report of the Productivity Commission's Inquiry into Gambling in a media release (available here, or from the AGC website).

AGC Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Vardon said: "The AGC is supportive of the Federal Government's approach to work through the issues raised in the Productivity Commission's report and to find effective ways to further improve Australia's strong track record in managing gambling responsibly.”

The National Association for Gambling Studies (NAGS) Annual Conference is to be held from 1-3 December 2010 at Jupiters on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

NAGS is Australia’s leading gambling studies research forum and the Annual Conference aims to encourage dialogue between the various sectors involved in the gambling debate.

The NAGS Committee have issued a call for papers for those interested in submitting materials to the conference. The theme for this year’s conference is “Searching for the silver bullet – innovations in gambling studies 2010 and beyond”. Prospective presenters are asked to submit an abstract of 250 words or less by 31 July 2010. Additional details on the format of submissions and selection criteria can be accessed here or at the NAGS website (http://www.nags.org.au).

Those interested in attending the 2010 NAGS conference can find information on registration and pricing here.

World Gaming Executive Summit 2010
14-16 July 2010
Madrid, Spain

Sportsbetting and Lotteries Asia
20-22 July 2010
Hong Kong, China

Australasian Gaming Expo
8-10 August 2010
Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour

Problem Gambling Treatment Guidelines
23 August 2010
Monash Conference Centre, Melbourne

The AGC sends our sincere condolences to the friends and family of John Carr-Gregg. Tragically killed in an accident that also claimed the lives of a number of his colleagues in the mining industry, John had previously worked within the gaming industry for a number of years and was instrumental in establishing the AGC in 2000.

The AGC welcomes comments on the content and layout of this newsletter. Access to the AGC eLibrary may be enabled via the AGC website.

Alternatively, anyone wishing to access the AGC eLibrary and/or be added to the AGC newsletter mailing list is encouraged to contact AGC Research and Administration Officer Brett Hetherington at bhetherington@austgamingcouncil.org.au.