Success of Tasmanian Know Your Odds gambling campaign questioned

Treasury data shows that Tasmanians’ losses to poker machines are climbing, prompting some to doubt whether the government’s Know Your Odds community campaign to reduce gambling harm is working.

Statewide losses to poker machines climbed to more than $15 million in April – its highest April level since 2016 – with Glenorchy and Launceston leading the way as the top loss-making municipalities.

But a survey conducted by research firm EMRS and released last week by the Department of Communities revealed more than half of gambling respondents said they had either cut down on gambling or had considered doing so.

It also showed that 83 per cent of those polled felt the Know Your Odds campaign was effective to some degree.

According to Community Services Development Minister Nic Street, the survey results showed that the campaign is reducing gambling harm.

The Know Your Odds campaign is a series of community advertisements aimed at reducing gambling harm by making punters more aware of the real odds of winning in gambling.

But social activists and independent parliamentarians expressed doubt over the government’s claim of success.

“To know we were making headway in reducing harm from pokies, we would have to see a significant and sustained reduction in losses, and that is simply not occurring,” independent MLC Meg Webb said..

She pointed to the data showing Tasmanians’ losses to poker machines have instead risen sharply since the onset of COVID.

“Losses jumped up after the COVID shutdown period and have stayed elevated, with losses in April around $15.5 million, the highest April figure since 2016,” she said.

Tasmanian Council of Social Services chief executive Adrienne Picone was similarly critical.

“If the government was really serious about reducing harms from gambling, they would not have gone ahead [last year] with making the changes to the gaming market,” she said.

Those changes included giving licences for electronic gaming machines to individual venues.

“The Tasmanian Gaming and Liquor Commission has acknowledged [giving individual licences] will increase competition between venues and … could increase gambling harm,” she said.

Ms Webb said the government also teamed up with Labor to vote against measures that “experts agreed could have reduced gambling harm”.

These included $1 bet limits, slower spin speeds, lower maximum jackpots, mandated breaks in play, prohibiting losses-disguised-as-wins and false near-misses.

“While public education campaigns are important and can be positive, the Liberal Government totally abandoned Tasmanians being harmed by poker machines in order to protect the profits of this industry, many of whom are known political donors.”

Stuart, a pokies enthusiast enjoying the machines in the Hotel Valern in Glenorchy’s “Golden Mile” on Monday morning, said he had never seen the Know Your Odds campaign’s ads.