The government of Sydney, Australia wants to open its libraries after the sun goes down to provide a haven free of temptation for gambling addicts.
The Libraries After Dark program was first tested in Melbourne, Victoria. It was judge successful enough to be extended until 2023.
Grassroots organizations such as Asian Women At Work Inc., composed of Asian migrant women, are calling for more ways to divert Asians from gaming, especially since it is such a temptation during the pandemic.
Opponents of gaming estimate that the closure of pokie clubs by the lockdown saved Australians as much as $1.5 billion, but then the casinos reopened in June.
The Libraries After Dark program seeks to provide a wide selection of social and recreational opportunities at night—to fight the temptation to gamble.
Australia has a large population of recent immigrants, many of them from Asia, where gaming is a ubiquitous part of the society.
According to Kate Da Costa of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, “There is nowhere else in the world that looks like New South Wales with having poker machines on nearly every suburban corner and migrants who come here often coming from countries where gambling is illegal entitled to think that the government wouldn’t put so many things around the place that aren’t safe.” She added, “Although it’s legal, it’s not safe.”
