In July last year, Dominic Perrottet, then the New South Wales treasurer, was asked a pointed question about how the government squared its commitment to addressing problem gambling with its forecasts for increased revenue from poker machines.
Given that increases in pokie tax revenue mean increased losses for gamblers, Alliance for Gambling Reform representative Kate da Costa asked at an industry breakfast, must it not reflect “increased harms from gambling from financial stress, family relationship damage, mental and physical ill health and worse?”.
