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7/23/2010: The Relationship Between crime and Gaming Expenditure in Victoria
Researchers in Victoria say they have found a “strong and robust” evidence of a link between spending on pokies and the incidence of “income-generating” crimes such as theft, robbery, fraud and handling stolen goods.
The findings, which have been quietly posted on the Department of Justice website, add weight to long-held assumptions about the incidence of problem gamblers turning to crime to feed their habits.
…They concluded that only drug offences had a stronger link to crime than poker machines.
The report by University of South Australia researchers, found evidence of a ”positive and significant link between gaming expenditure and crime” in Victoria across three different years - 1996, 2001 and 2006.
The Relationship Between Crime and Gaming Expenditure in Victoria
County Court Judge Roland Williams -
questioned at the time ”how a so-called civilised society can allow and offer the mindless operation of poker machines to witless members of the public under the euphemism of gaming and entertainment is no doubt a question for the sociologists of this world”.
Bill Clark
October 17th, 2010 at 7:31 am
I agree wholeheartedly with Judge Willaims.
When we all know there are so many wonderful experiences in the narural world all around us, all free of charge and all exciting and beautiful, why in heaven’s name do we turn to the evil that is poker machines.
Governments makes enormous amount of money out of gambling and pokies. But there are other ways of doing that using the tax system. Cut out middle class welfare, increase taxes on the rich, evan also the GST.