Western Australia has more gamblers than other Aussie states, but a lower level of problem gambling. That’s because it has fewer electronic gaming machines (EGMs).
According to ABC News, the finding was part of a report ordered by the WA Royal Commission into operations at Crown Perth. The study was compiled by a team of CQUniversity gambling researchers. They determined that there is “no good evidence” that EGMs, or pokies, played at Crown Perth are safer for problem gamblers than EGMs played in other states.
In WA, pokies were banned everywhere but Crown Perth when the casino opened in 1985. Commissioners have heard from many witnesses who “struggled to explain the exact difference between an illegal poker machine and a legal EGM approved by the casino watchdog,” ABC reported.
The report said all EGMs are “inherently dangerous” because of the potential for gamblers to overspend and become addicted.
“There appears to be no evidence that the EGMs in WA are safer based on the machines themselves,” it said. “It is the restricted availability … that is the key factor contributing to lower gambling problems in WA.”
Data published in the report showed that about 63 percent of Western Australians gamble, compared to about 56 percent in the rest of Australia.
But of these, only 0.9 per cent of WA gamblers were problem gamblers, compared to 2.3 per cent in other states and territories.
Only 8.7 percent of WA gamblers played EGMs, compared to 17.3 percent elsewhere. “The fact that WA experiences fewer gambling problems can only be explained by the fact that fewer people in WA gamble on EGMs,” it said.
The report said it would be reasonable to conclude that if WA had more EGMs, the number of problem gamblers would increase.
“In fact, our analyses … suggest that people who play EGMs in WA are just as likely to have gambling problems as people who play EGMs elsewhere.”
