Roll-out of the online technology commences today on the NSW Far North Coast with training for club staff and local gambling counsellors.

The technology allows problem [...]]]> With just the click of a button, problem gamblers living anywhere in NSW will be able to use a secure website to ban themselves from their local clubs.

Roll-out of the online technology commences today on the NSW Far North Coast with training for club staff and local gambling counsellors.

The technology allows problem gamblers to complete a legally binding self exclusion document in the presence of a gambling counsellor or a trained facilitator at their local club. Previously the individual had to visit each club individually.

Additionally, the problem gambler can now choose to ban themselves from multiple clubs rather than the time consuming process of visiting each venue and repeating the process time and again.

Problem gamblers are provided with the following self-exclusion options:

• banning from the club
• banning from any area of the club with poker machines
• banning from any area of the club where gambling takes place such as poker machines, Keno and ClubTAB.

Development of the multi-venue self exclusion system will be expanded across the State over the next 12 months and comes after 18 months development by ClubsNSW.

The rollout of the program follows a 6 month trial of the online system in 51 clubs in Broken Hill and the Central Coast. The respective trials were overseen by counsellors employed by Lifeline and UnitingCare Unifam.

The online system – the first of its kind in Australia – will be provided to NSW clubs and gambling counsellors to assist their clients free of charge.

ClubsNSW CEO Anthony Ball said self exclusion in combination with counselling is the best way of helping problem gamblers beat their addiction.

“During the 6 month trial 136 problem gamblers chose to ban themselves from a combined 569 clubs in Broken Hill and the Central Coast. Under the previous system, it could have taken weeks or even months for a problem gambler to visit each of those clubs and inform the staff they wanted to be banned from gambling.

“Self exclusion was introduced by clubs and hotels in NSW in 2000, with an estimated 3,000 people opting to ban themselves from a club or hotel each year. Clubs and hotels are subject to significant financial penalties if they knowingly allow a person to breach their self-exclusion.

“For some people, the time, effort and emotional investment needed to make multiple visits to a club is overwhelming or just too difficult to go through with.

“This scheme eliminates those barriers, and also provides an option for problem gamblers to avoid gaming venues altogether by completing the procedure at the office of a certified gambling counsellor.

“Previous studies have indicated that 90% of problem gamblers would prefer to self-ban from multiple venues in one go. This technology allows that to occur as well providing them with the choice of deciding if they want the counsellor to notify nominated family of their gambling addiction,” Anthony Ball said.

ClubSAFE Manager and gambling counsellor Rowan Cameron says that although self-exclusion is by no means a miracle cure-all for problem gamblers, it’s a highly effective tool providing a disincentive to re-enter the gaming environment, especially when utilised in conjunction with individual counselling.

An independent assessment by Macquarie University concluded that self exclusion services are profoundly valuable in assisting problem gamblers. Findings include:

• 88% of surveyed participants found the self-exclusion program to be satisfactory for their needs;
• 76% of surveyed participants found themselves financially better off after participating in the self-exclusion program;
• 65% cited significant improvement in their personal relationships as a result of participating in the program;
• More than 70% reported significant reductions in the money spent on gambling as a result of participating in the program.

The Minister for Gaming and Racing Minister George Souris and the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing have been updated regularly on the progress of the trial of multi-venue self exclusion.

Training in the use of the technology for the State’s almost 250 Government funded gambling counsellors has commenced and will be completed as the program is introduced in their respective regions.

Media: Jeremy Bath 0419 267 789

Pollsters Textor Crosby asked the question of what should the Labor Government do on gambling reform in light of Peter Slipper’s decision to leave the [...]]]> A poll of 800 voters shows more than half of Australians want a compromise on poker machine reform that could include voluntary pre-commitment.

Pollsters Textor Crosby asked the question of what should the Labor Government do on gambling reform in light of Peter Slipper’s decision to leave the Coalition to assume the position of Speaker of the House.

The polling offered 4 options with the resulting support for each option in brackets:

1. Carry on with mandatory pre-commitment (19.3%)
2. Introduce gambling reform but negotiate an alternative position so it has less effect on clubs such as voluntary pre-commitment (55.1%)
3. Abandon poker machine reform altogether. (19.4)
4. Don’t know/ No opinion (6.2%)

That means that the vast majority of Australians believe that MPC should be buried.

Clubs Australia Executive Director Anthony Ball said the polling confirmed that mandatory pre-commitment had been exposed as a magic bullet solution to problem gambling.

“This polling in marginal Labor and independent held seats shows that Australians are tired of Andrew Wilkie’s posturing and threatening of the Federal Government.”

To view the polling, go to:

http://www.clubsnsw.com.au/circulars/Media/what%20should%20govt%20do%20on%20MPC%20post%20Slipper%20slide.pdf

Media: Jeremy Bath 0419 267 789

The Australian Hotels Association says rostering rules are creating confusion among hoteliers, and are encouraging them to take on casual workers rather than permanent workers.

Speaking ahead of the release of a discussion paper on the Fair Work Act [...]]]> By Madeleine Heffernan | SmartCompany | http://goo.gl/v9GRv

The Australian Hotels Association says rostering rules are creating confusion among hoteliers, and are encouraging them to take on casual workers rather than permanent workers.

Speaking ahead of the release of a discussion paper on the Fair Work Act review and a survey of its 5,000-odd members, AHA spokesman Steven Fanner says anecdotally, flexibility around rostering and public holiday penalties have emerged as key issues for the $15 billion sector.

“The way that the Fair Work Act deals with permanent employees, it’s difficult to have flexibility without overtime and penalty payments,” Fanner says.

“And that doesn’t match up with the dynamic, seasonal hospitality industry.”

According to Fanner, part of the reason why two-thirds of the industry are casual workers is because sorting out whether full-time workers can change their hours is not worth the hassle for operators.

“If we want to change a shift around, we need to make sure appropriate breaks have taken place and the staff members haven’t worked so many hours in the previous days [to prevent overtime payments],” he says.

“That’s why most employers will use casuals when they can.”

According to the Australian Financial Review, under the Hospitality Award 2010, full-time players must be paid at least six hours a day; permanent part-time workers must be paid at for least three and casual workers are allowed to work a minimum of two hours.

There are also stipulations on worker breaks after consecutive days of overtime.

Fanner adds that public holidays were a problem over summer, with penalty rates soaring after both Christmas Day and New Year’s Day fell on the weekend.

The AHA has previously said its members are hard hit by wage prices because a large proportion of work is performed outside normal business hours and therefore subject to penalty rates.

An IBISWorld report into pubs, taverns and bars in Australia, released last month, tipped 1.3% growth in the 2011-12 year, saying growth had been constrained over the past few years by declining beer consumption, strong competition from liquor retailers and the economic downturn, which caused the collapse of some highly leveraged pub operators and led many consumers to swap a bar stool at their local for the comfort of their couch at home.”

“To make matters worse, there have been changing community attitudes towards the industry’s two major products, alcohol and gambling, in the past five years.”

The report says the sector’s 3,000-odd businesses employ almost 79,000 people, and noted that about 85% of total revenue is derived from alcohol sales, off-premises liquor sales and gaming and wagering activities.

The comments follow the collapse of several high profile pub owners over the past few years, including National Leisure & Gaming, Cornerstone Hotels, Compass Hotel Group, Munday Grop and Icon Hospitality.

But not everybody is shying away from the sector; veteran ad man John Singlelton picked up some hotels in Sydney throughout 2011 and there are expectations opportunistic buyers will emerge this year.

The comments follow complaints by several industry bodies about the penalty rates set in the Fair Work Act.

This week, the Australian Tourism Export Council said the industry was struggling with penalty rates, and the expiration of enterprise bargaining agreements will put further strain on operators, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises operating in regional and rural areas.

And the Restaurant and Catering Association also recently called for the hospitality sector to be exempted from some Fair Work provisions, including the mandatory payment of penalty rates – double time and a half – on weekends and public holidays.

View original article: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/industrial-relations/20120117-hotels-association-says-rostering-rules-confusing-encourage-industry-to-use-casual-rather-than-permanent-staff.html

Clubs Australia has made clear to all Federal MPs it would never support any proposal to force $1 max bets on recreational gamblers. Were it to be adopted by [...]]]> Clubs Australia has today reiterated its opposition to the $1 max bet policy being shopped to the media by the Australian Greens and Senator Nick Xenophon.

Clubs Australia has made clear to all Federal MPs it would never support any proposal to force $1 max bets on recreational gamblers. Were it to be adopted by the Federal Government, the campaign against mandatory pre-commitment would switch to a campaign against $1 max bets on the basis that such a policy doesn’t stop the problem gambler from playing a poker machine.

Furthermore, Clubs Australia is calling on the Greens and Nick Xenophon to reveal the full detail of their $1 max bet policy, which includes slashing the major jackpot from $100,000 to just $500.

The Greens have now released 12 consecutive media releases without acknowledging this vital piece of information. To discover this information a journalist would need to read the fine print of the Greens’ gambling policy which hasn’t been seen since October 14 last year.

The one small study undertaken a decade ago and funded by ClubsNSW on $1 max bets found that just 7.5% of participating problem gamblers bet more than $1 per spin. This suggests the vast majority of problem gamblers would not benefit from limiting bets to just $1.

Clubs Australia Executive Director Anthony Ball said those pushing the $1 max bet policy to Federal MPs needed to be upfront with the full facts.

“It’s extraordinary that the Greens, along with Andrew Wilkie and Nick Xenophon, have repeatedly claimed that recreational punters would be unaffected by $1 max bets,” he said.

“Not only does the $1 max bet policy slash the major jackpot by 99.5%, but it would also require all smaller jackpots be substantially reduced to meet the machine’s minimum RTP rate (return to player) required by law.

“More than 5 million Australians have a flutter on the pokies each year. They understand their chances of winning the jackpot are remote but play because they enjoy the ‘what if’ thought of winning the jackpot.

“Given the very small number of problem gamblers who bet more than $1 per spin, it seems clear the true motivation of the Greens and Senator Xenophon is to effectively force social punters to stop playing the pokies.

“The technology required to convert existing poker machines to a $1 max bet comes with a price tag of more than $3 billion. It’s simply the latest ‘magic bullet’ solution from an increasingly desperate anti-gambling lobby.

“Nick Xenophon penned an opinion piece in a recent Sunday paper extolling the benefits of the Greens’ ‘low-intensity’ machines. Despite penning 742 words, the Senator couldn’t find one word admitting the current $100,000 jackpot would be slashed to just $500.

“The United Kingdom has a large number of machines with a limited bet and jackpot amount, yet the UK problem gambling rate is 0.7 per cent, the same rate as Victoria and higher than the rate in New South Wales and Queensland,” Anthony Ball said.

Contact: Carissa Simons 0417 348 659

The agreement commits the Federal Government to an “evidence based approach to problem gambling”, [...]]]> Clubs Australia says it hopes Andrew Wilkie will use his flight to Western Australia today to carefully read the terms he signed off on in his agreement with the Prime Minister 16 months ago.

The agreement commits the Federal Government to an “evidence based approach to problem gambling”, a position also recommended by the Productivity Commission in its 2010 gambling report.

Andrew Wilkie has repeatedly claimed that the evidence of mandatory pre-commitment is contained in the Productivity Commission’s 2010 report. However the report contains no evidence and recommends a trial of mandatory pre-commitment be conducted in a state or territory to test its effectiveness.

Clubs Australia Executive Director Anthony Ball said that it was not too late for the Government to work with clubs to have a full and proper trial of the technology.

“At the behest of Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, the Government is planning to introduce a $3 billion scheme without any evidence that it will actually help problem gamblers.

“The agreement between Andrew Wilkie and the Prime Minister states that any approach taken must be evidence-based and consistent with the recommendations of the Productivity Commission.

“The introduction of mandatory pre-commitment without even a trial would be a sizeable breach of the very clear terms Andrew Wilkie signed with Julia Gillard in September 2010.

“The same agreement also stipulates that an independent study be commissioned to establish the impact of a reduction in problem gambling on other revenue flows and individual spending behaviour. This report was due by the end of 2011. The failure of Andrew Wilkie to produce this report is the first breach of his agreement with the Prime Minister on gambling reform.

“It’s clear the barrier to a trial of mandatory pre-commitment is Andrew Wilkie. The Productivity Commission recommended a trial and yet 18 months on clubs stand alone in supporting a trial,” he said.

Mr Ball said the agreement between Mr Wilkie and the Prime Minister should also be high on the reading list of Senator Xenophon.

“If Nick Xenophon read the agreement, he would find no mention of $1 max bets. This should please him greatly given he has over the past 10 years repeatedly opposed $1 max bets and lower jackpots.

In 2002, Senator Xenophon told the Adelaide Advertiser that he was concerned that players ‘being drip-fed with small jackpots’ would be encouraged to play longer.

His 2009 submission to the Productivity Commission described the two-tiered approach of $1 max bets combined with mandatory pre-commitment as undermining the effectiveness of such a strategy.

Following the Wilkie/Gillard deal, Senator Xenophon told the ABC’s Radio National that mandatory pre-commitment was a “far better result” than $1 max bets.

“It’s clear that Nick Xenophon will support any policy that damages clubs. He needs to explain why he has suddenly backflipped on $1 max bets and mandatory pre-commitment and is seemingly uninterested in evidence based reforms,” he said.

Jeremy Bath
Media Relations Manager
ClubsNSW / ClubsAustralia
Direct: 02 9268 3032
Mobile: 0419 267 789
Email: jbath@clubsnsw.com.au

Ms Gillard made an agreement to introduce mandatory pre-commitment to poker [...]]]> Prime Minister Julia Gillard is due to meet key independent Andrew Wilkie in Hobart today while another independent MP, Rob Oakeshott says he’s concerned about the lack of detail on the government’s proposed reforms for poker machines.

Ms Gillard made an agreement to introduce mandatory pre-commitment to poker machines with Mr Wilkie in return for his support for a minority Labor Government after the 2010 election.

But Mr Oakeshott, who’s one of the votes Ms Gillard needs for the passage of proposed gambling reforms through the lower house, says he’s only received an initial departmental briefing.

Mr Oakeshott says he’s worried that gamblers will require at least seven separate cards to play poker machines across Australia.

Original Article: http://www.skynews.com.au/politics/article.aspx?id=707427&vId

At least sixteen Government MPs have publicly indicated their support for a trial of mandatory pre-commitment. A trial was a key recommendation of [...]]]> Clubs Australia is calling on the Prime Minister to deliver the one Christmas present club members want; a meaningful trial of mandatory pre-commitment on all club poker machines in the ACT.

At least sixteen Government MPs have publicly indicated their support for a trial of mandatory pre-commitment. A trial was a key recommendation of the Productivity Commission’s report into gambling released almost 18 months ago.

Recommendation 19.2 of the Productivity Commission states:

The Australian Government should enter into negotiations with a state or territory government to sponsor a full-scale regional trial or trials of a full pre-commitment regime (recommendation 10.4), with trialling to commence by 2013.

Trialling should:

• test the design features of full pre-commitment for possible modification
• substantiate that full pre-commitment has sufficient advantages over partial pre-commitment to justify proceeding with its implementation in all jurisdictions.

Clubs Australia Executive Director Anthony Ball said a trial would allow the Government to better understand the impact of mandatory pre-commitment on problem and recreational gamblers as well as the club and hotel industry.

“It is almost beyond comprehension that the Federal Government would consider something so experimental and invasive to social punters without first conducting a trial to establish its effect on problem gambling.

“Gambling experts are lining up across the country to express their concern that the Government is forcing a $3 billion experiment on clubs without the faintest piece of evidence suggesting it will help problem gamblers.

“The Prime Minister could deliver her caucus members a much needed Christmas present in the form of a meaningful trial of mandatory pre-commitment. Industry, local clubs and the ACT Government are all supportive of a trial.

“Why is the Prime Minister stalling on delivering what her own MPs are demanding and the Productivity Commission itself recommended?

“I can only guess the stumbling block is Andrew Wilkie. The Member for Denison has made it clear he only supports a “technical trial” of mandatory pre-commitment, which is the equivalent of building a car and then refusing to test its brakes.

“If the Prime Minister won’t play Santa Clause to her MPs then perhaps she will use the new year as an opportunity to stand up to Andrew Wilkie and insist his licence to punt is subjected to a trial to prove its effectiveness,” Anthony Ball said.

Media: Jeremy Bath 0419 267 789

”Sixty-seven [...]]]>

The opposition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull will this week release the results of an online poll he conducted to gauge community views on what should be done.

”Sixty-seven per cent of people supported $1 maximum bet limits – probably because it’s easier to understand – and 64 per cent of people said they either strongly agreed or agreed with mandatory pre-commitment,” Mr Turnbull told The Sun-Herald.

He said the clubs industry had been made aware of the poll to try to prevent it from being hijacked by anti-gambling campaigners.

Almost 7500 people completed the survey, and were required to give their names and addresses. About 10 per cent were from Mr Turnbull’s Wentworth electorate in the eastern suburbs.

Mr Turnbull, the Coalition’s communications spokesman, is part of a working group set up by the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, to develop a problem gambling policy.

Mr Abbott is opposed to Labor’s approach of introducing mandatory pre-commitment technology, which would require people to say how much money they were prepared to lose before they starting using gaming machines. Last week the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, said she remained committed to a deal with the Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie to introduce mandatory pre-commitment in return for his support for the government.

Mr Turnbull’s poll attracted attention because it was linked to a message from the chairman of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce, Tim Costello, who said a voluntary approach to tackling problem gambling would not work.

Yesterday Mr Turnbull said participants in the survey had been lukewarm about voluntary measures to counter problem gambling, with only 48 per cent of people in favour and 37 per cent opposed.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/coalitions-poll-favours-1-pokie-bet-20111210-1oooj.html#ixzz1gGxRwZ77 ]]> http://www.clubtraining.com.au/2011/12/coalitions-poll-favours-1-pokie-bet/feed/?cat=11 0