Critic: Gambling is easier, “more dangerous”
An Australian law firm is suing casino operator Crown Melbourne and gaming technology manufacturer Aristocrat, charging that they have conspired to trick pokie players about the odds of winning.
According to the Guardian newspaper, the landmark action was filed in federal court by so-called social justice law firm Maurice Blackburn Corp.
Blackburn principal Jacob Varghese said poker machines use “tricks players aren’t aware of that mislead the player into believing they are winning.”
“We are a country governed by laws, not by money,” Varghese said. “There is no amount of money you can throw at an issue to cover up the fact that the design of the game is in breach of Australian consumer law.
“I think there is a growing understanding in Australia that pokies are a particularly Australian problem with devastating consequences for individuals, families and communities.”
A Crown spokeswoman said the company “will vigorously defend any claim.” And Aristocrat issued a statement saying it “emphatically rejects any suggestion that its games are designed to encourage problem gambling, or in any way fail to comply with all relevant regulations and laws.”
According to the suit, the “Dolphin Treasure” pokie machine sets off bells and whistles “even when the amount won is less than the amount wagered,” said Monash University gaming researcher Charles Livingstone. “This ‘win’ is completely illusory and is a key element for the establishment of what we call addiction.”
It’s no secret Australians love to gamble. Sydney Morning Herald commentator Sam Duncan cited recent statistics showing that Aussies lost $23 billion between 2014 and 2015, up 8 percent from the year before.
“It’s part of our culture,” Duncan wrote. “Victorians even have a day off for a horse race, and most of us will have at least a small wager on the race’s outcome.” But new technologies that make it easier to gamble are insidious, he said.
“Gambling is now a more secretive and dangerously anti-social pastime. It can be done by yourself in lounge rooms, on the train, at university or even at work. It’s easy, takes little effort and no one need know what you’ve put money on, when, or how much you’ve gambled. You don’t even see the money—it automatically comes out of your account.
“But as a nation,” he wrote, “we’re losing money by the hundreds of millions.”
