Wesfarmers (Coles) and Woolies don't want us to know that shopping at their stores means buying from companies that own and operate the largest number of electronic poker machines in the country. Together, they own more dangerous high loss machines than the top five Las Vegas casinos combined.[1]
Worse still? 40% of that revenue comes directly from problem gamblers, people gambling not out of choice and for fun, but out of addiction.[2]
Right now, Coles and Woolworths executives are considering whether to do the right thing by the community by making their poker machines safer. They'll only do the right thing if we, their customers and shareholders, demand it. We're already getting their attention - on Wednesday night our controversial new TV ad was featured on Channel Ten's The Project, sparking a debate about the power of this campaign.
The impact of this campaign depends on how far and wide we spread it. Check out the video and share it today: https://www.getup.org.au/
There's nothing voluntary about a gambling addiction but Coles and Woolworths can easily clean up their machines and take the lead on this important issue.
There is a sensible solution that would be simple to adopt. Right now, it’s possible to lose up to $10,000 an hour on a typical machine owned by Coles or Woolworths, the kind found in clubs and pubs all over Australia. The Productivity Commission recommends that these high loss machines be converted to $1 maximum bets, changing the maximum potential loss to $120 per hour.[3]
It’s a reform the vast majority of punters wouldn’t even notice, because Productivity Commission research found 88 per cent of people don’t bet more than a dollar per spin anyway. But for gambling addicts, it would make all the difference.
After we've grabbed Coles and Woolies attention, we will use everything in our arsenal to exert our power as customers and individuals, beginning with working together to take our issue to our local supermarkets.
Will you help to spread the word? https://www.getup.org.au/
The Sydney Homeless community fully endorse this Get Up campaign and call for a complete Federal Australian Government ban on pokies. Pokies and other electronic Gaming systems are primary drivers of marginalisation in Australia as families and people of modest means become indebted before they realise that the quick fix to their financial woes is a mirage.
