A committee of the state government of Tasmania holding hearings on the future of poker machines on the Australian island was told by a hospitality group that people who play don’t expect to win and think of it as an entertainment expense, like attending a cinema.
The committee is mulling ending a monopoly of the Federal Group and allowing any business to operate the machines—while allowing fewer of them.
The group that smoke to the government representatives was the Australian Leisure and Hospitality Group. David Curry of the group commented, “I don’t think people generally expect to win when they play but what they are doing is buying a form of entertainment. They are enjoying that form of entertainment, it’s no different to me going to the movies – whether it’s a good movie or a bad movie – and buying an ice cream.”
James Boyce, an island author and historian, told the committee that when the island’s two casinos were licensed to operate the machines they turned into a “giant pokies barn.”
A representative of local pubs said the taverns would struggle to survive without the money from the machines.
