Australia is in the grip of an addiction to poker machines with more of the devices located in the community than in any other country, according to a new report from progressive thinktank the Australia Institute.

The discussion paper points to figures that show about 80% of the world’s poker machines are in dedicated gambling venues, such as casinos. Only 241,000 poker machines worldwide are in non-gaming venues, with the vast majority of those – 183,000 – in Australia’s pubs and clubs.

The report’s co-author Bill Browne said: “Australia’s large number of poker machines and our unusual decision to allow them in pubs and clubs make us a global anomaly.

“Australia has 0.3% of the world’s population but 6% of its conventional gaming machines and 18% of its poker machines.

“In terms of machines per person, Australia is right up there with casino-states like Monaco, Macau and Caribbean island nations.”

The report comes as Tasmania’s opposition Labor party announced a policy to remove poker machines from pubs and clubs in the state by 2023 if the party wins the next election in March.

Labor’s leader, Rebecca White, said the party would phase out more than 2,300 poker machines from venues to curb their “devastating effect on people and their families”. It would make Tasmania only the second state without pokies after Western Australia.

The promise was welcomed by community groups and anti-pokies campaigners but criticised by Premier Will Hodgman, who warned it would cost the state jobs.



Labor would provide a $55m package to encourage venues and businesses to voluntarily retire the machines before 2023.

“Last financial year, Tasmanians lost $110m on poker machines in pubs and clubs, White said. “Economic modelling has shown that it could provide an additional 180 jobs in Tasmania if only half that money is spent in the community.”

The anti-pokies campaigner and independent federal MP Andrew Wilkie welcomed the policy.

“We know that poker machines cause or at least add to many social ills including crime, domestic violence, suicide and childhood poverty,” he said in a statement.

Labor’s policy is a point of difference with the Liberal government, which plans to cut the number of pokies in the state by 150 by 2023. Hodgman told reporters Labor’s policy would hurt businesses.

“We’ve heard from operators of hotels across the state, which support local economies, that if poker machines are removed in their entirety it will cost jobs,” he said.

Poker machines bring in about 1% of the state’s revenue.

Separate modelling by the Australia Institute found the loss of tax revenue from a ban on hotel and club poker machines in Tasmania would be very small and could be accounted for by adopting higher tax rates for poker machines in casinos.

One of the paper’s author’s, Leanne Minshull, the director of the Australia Institute Tasmania, said: “Tasmania has more pokies than India, Italy and the Netherlands combined; most countries, 226 out of 238, do not have any poker machines in pubs and clubs.

“Tasmanian Labor’s policy of getting poker machines out of Tasmania’s pubs and clubs is not a radical step but a step towards a global norm.”

The Country Women’s Association has also backed the campaign to ban poker machines in the state’s pubs and clubs.

Lindy Cleeland, the CWA chief for Tasmania, told the Mercury that members were united on the issue of poker machines and the easy availability of gambling had had devastating effects on local communities.

“It’s well past time for Tasmanians to have our say and for our representatives to choose to serve the community interest ahead of vested interstate interests,” Cleeland said.