A joint parliamentary inquiry has heard counselling for problem gamblers does not work and is a waste of money.

The hearing is trying to work out the best ways to help problem gamblers.

The Australian Council of Churches says a public advertising campaign should tell people the machines are a danger and should not be played on a regular basis.

In January, the Prime Minister abandoned her commitment to independent Andrew Wilkie to introduce mandatory pre-commitment technology on poker machines, a measure recommended by the Productivity Commission to tackle problem gambling.

A month later, a joint parliamentary committee was set up to look at what measures work in helping problem gamblers quit.

Yesterday, two ex-pokie addicts gave the hearing a glimpse into their past.

Julia Karpathakis told independent senator Nick Xenophon her addiction cost her her house.

"I was never asked, 'do I have a problem?'," she said.

"A lot of the times I would go with that intention that I was only going to spend $20 and I'd be back and forth to the ATM until I had nothing."

Ms Karpathakis now heads the support group Pokies Anonymous.

Shonica Guy, also a former addict, is a volunteer with the group. She played the pokies for 14 years.

She says the machines put her in a zombie-like trance.

"I was hypnotised and half my life is gone," she said.

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"I'm actually bankrupt now for I think it was $25,000. I played the pokies for 14 years and so I don't do the maths so... $500 a week.

"Plus the credit cards and personal loan debts."

Mr Wilkie asked Ms Guy if employees at those venues ever showed any interest in her welfare.

"No," she replied. "Oh they knew. There was one lady that, she used to be there all the time, and she gave me free cokes, if that's helping my welfare, so putting more money in the machine."

Ms Karpathakis says counselling does not work for problem gamblers.

Tasmanian-based psychiatrist Dr Natalie Glinka agrees.

She has treated what she calls pathological gamblers over the past decade.

"That people desire to counsel pathological gamblers is noble, however as a treatment it is far from useful. I think it's a waste of money," Dr Glinka said.

Culture of gambling

Tim Costello, a long-time campaigner against pokies, says gambling is pervading every corner of Australian life, down to schoolboy cricket.

"The culture with their children often now, thinking of sport in terms of the odds, even to their under-10 cricket and football games, and the odds of who is 11th man or who is on the bench," he said.

He says some gamblers will use the Schoolkids Bonus money to feed their gambling habit. The measure was announced last week and passed through Parliament last Thursday.

"I notice that the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, on the schools bonus payment said it could be spent on pokies," Mr Costello said.

"Even though it's only one in four adults who even play the pokies, we know that with $12 billion profit, $5 billion coming from addicted people, that's certainly a strong possibility that bonus might be spent there."

On dealing with problem gambling, Mr Costello says there should be a public advertising campaign and that it should be blunt.

"We say it's a dangerous product when in New South Wales you can load up $10,000 in one go, $1,000 in my state, Victoria," he said.

"Pathologising (sic) the individual as somehow sad, addicted, pathetic and no-one can help them, they'll always do it, lets a dangerous product off the hook and that's not a responsible public health approach to this issue."

Follow example

Mr Costello appeared at the hearing, representing the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce, with his colleague Dr Jennifer Borrell.

"That's what I would want in a public education campaign," Dr Borrell said.

"These machines are a dangerous product and should not be played on a regular basis, and I don't know that should be so controversial because the research for that is very, very solid and we all know it."

The director of Gambling Therapy Services in South Australia, Professor Malcolm Battersby, says ads targeting problem gambling need to be more effective.

Professor Battersby has told the inquiry it should follow the example set by the anti-smoking lobby.

"I was walking past the university the other day and there was a huge [advertisement] - almost the side of a bus - with a guy coughing up into a handkerchief, coughing blood into his handkerchief - 'That's not all you are coughing up mate' - and I thought you could say exactly the same for the pokies," he said.

The hearing continues.