What it probably means is that the venue owners will simply drop the odds of winning to compensate. All these machines can be programmed and what people don’t realise, or they fool themselves is, that they are pleying against a computer, which tells you you are winning when you are actually losing.

Stake one dollar, winnings 40 cents!All flashed up in lights with the bells and whistles.
But they say, ‘fools and their money are soon parted.’ How much profit do the venue owners make?

The commission taken from each dollar gambled on pokies, in Tasmania is split in the following manner: to the venue 4 cents, to the government 5 cents and to Federal Hotels 8 cents.
The venue also has to supply the room, rent, cleaning etc. Some make very little, most have exploited their communities and taken what they could.
The government earns approximately $80 million per annum, it could earn much more but has decided that it would bear all the social costs of gaming, while earning a minimal profit.
The social costs; embezzlement, imprisonment, bankruptcy, family court, social workers and job loss in local communities can easily be accounted for by the Bartlett Labor Government as worth it?. The State revenue of $80 mill pa, must be worth it. Those smart boffins in Airds Treasury have done their figures and bugger the human cost.
Federal Hotels receive access to all the marketing information of the major hotels in Tasmania and have since 1975 purchased the best for themselves. Their published share is $120 million or $325,000 per day ripped straight out of the disposable income of Main Street, Tasmania.
I am guessing but I would think that the gaming administration could be run from Sandy Bay as well as Moonah or Orange, NSW. I am making a reasonable financial forecast when I say that the profit taken home by Federal Hotels would pay off the State Deficit and buy us a new hospital. Read my words, with no new taxes.
The question is why did we allow this Government to do this to us? Why does the government need a Federal Hotels participating in this exploitation. When the ALP can do it by themselves and reap a greater reward for the State at the same time. But no, they just gave more to the one organization in the State that had produced least. This is the Bacon legacy.

In a strange way, the question raised by Greg James (post #2) reminds of one of the points proponents of speeding fines raise regularly.  If you don’t speed you won’t get fined.  Likewise, if you don’t gamble you won’t fill the $%*#% Government’s coffers.

However, all of the movers and shakers out there know about human weakness.  In one way or another they’re all pandered to by “someone” to gain access to the almighty dollar.  Gambling is simply a perverted desire to get rich or, at the very least, even.  Yes, you can call it greed, but simply taking away the machines would probably have no effect on the people suffering from this particular weakness as it’s quite likely they would find another avenue.

Is there anyone out there that has a chance of helping make the community sane?

Such is the cronyism and collective defective thinking of the Tasmanian government encumbents, be it Labor or Liberal.
If the people in the State had believed the falsity in the statements of Liberal Senator Eric Abetz and his ranting about the absolute sustainability of forestry, imagine the further financial losses over and above the numerous failed forestry MIS schemes, along with the downturn in demand for forestry products?

The lagacy given by the Labor government of Lennon and Bartlett, along with the able assistance of Michael Aird and David Llewellyn is an appalling constant.
We are still in the throes of wonder as to the purposes of Michael Aird and his determined machinations, to wrest the water and sewerage assets from our local councils to bundle them all into 3 conveniently packaged independant lots.
What chance of this government ultimately stacking each one up for sale to some cashed up entity, even overseas ownership is a possibility?

What of the ramped up costs to the home-owner as a result of this , maybe at some later stage a water meter given us in return for our increased annual W & S costs?

Maybe this sell-off could be in the same manner as the sale of Hobart Airport, in grabbing a large chunk of those respective peoples superannuation savings?
Let’s not forget the multi-million dollar costs and fees gobbled up by the Macquarie Bank raiders in this Airport deal?

So, in line with the issue of the Federal Hotel’s windfall via government, the precedent of favoring themselves and a select few others in whatever manner they choose, seems more important to these ministers, rather than the interests of the people in this State?
Tasmanian Lib/Lab Politics are indeed a dirty business!