Latest news with #WesleyMission
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
NSW gamblers losing $24m to poker machines every day, analysis shows
The New South Wales government has failed to prevent serious gambling harm with $2.7bn lost to poker machines in the first 90 days of this year, according to a charity group pushing for tougher regulation. Analysis of state government data by Wesley Mission has found the amount of money lost to poker machines during the first quarter of 2025 increased by 5.7% when compared with the same period in 2024. According to the analysis, NSW residents are now losing an average of $1m an hour to poker machines across the state, or more than $24m every day. Poker machines losses were the highest in Sydney's western suburbs. In the Canterbury-Bankstown area, more than $186m was lost to 4,924 poker machines in just 90 days, or an average of more than $2m a day. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email In just 90 days, more than $766m was lost to poker machines across seven local government areas in western Sydney: Fairfield, Cumberland, Blacktown, Parramatta, Penrith and Campbelltown and Canterbury-Bankstown. Wesley Mission, which sat on the NSW government's expert independent panel on gambling reform, has warned residents in Sydney's west are now losing an average of about $3,200 a year. The charity's chief executive, Stu Cameron, said the state government needed to urgently introduce tougher regulation of poker machines. 'The government has implemented limited reforms, but they clearly aren't having a material impact,' Cameron said. 'The losses continue to be massive, the poker machines keep multiplying and their devastating impact deepens every day. 'If the goal was to reduce gambling harm, then these reforms have failed. What we need now is courage – not more delays.' A spokesperson for the NSW minister for gaming and racing, David Harris, said the government was committed to 'evidence-based gaming reform' that would reduce harm and stop money laundering, while supporting local communities and jobs. 'Our gaming reforms are about changing people's behaviour which takes time,' Harris said. 'The government is reducing the overall number of gaming machines in NSW by reducing the gaming machine entitlement cap by over 3,000 since this Government was elected in 2023. 'Our government has also committed $100m to harm minimisation, introduced more responsible gambling officers, and have slashed cash limits on new machines.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Wesley Mission also called on the state government to also introduce mandatory shutdowns of poker machines from midnight to 10am, to introduce a cashless gaming card with enforceable harm reduction limits, and to set tighter caps on the number of machines in high-risk communities. 'These are not radical ideas – they are basic public health protections,' Cameron said. 'If people were being harmed this severely by alcohol, drugs, or unsafe roads, the government would act.' 'Gambling should be no different. Instead, the government does little while the industry rakes in billions.' Wesley Mission's analysis found the number of poker machines operating across the state had slightly increased when compared with the first quarter of 2024. The shadow minister for gaming, Kevin Anderson, said the government had 'promised a big game' on poker machines before the state election, but failed to deliver. 'The delays are just mind boggling and so frustrating for industry,' Anderson said. 'When I talk to pubs and clubs, they want certainty from this government and they are not getting it.' In November last year, the independent panel wrote a 'roadmap' on how to overhaul the state's regulation of poker machines and limit harm. The Minns government is yet to formally respond to the report's recommendations, which were contested by some panel members.
The Advertiser
10-05-2025
- The Advertiser
From treated to tragic: the deterioration of a killer
Top of his class at university and with the ability to speak three languages, the future looked bright for Joel Cauchi. But a series of fateful decisions would lead to him being overlooked by authorities and detached from the mental health system before he became one of Australia's worst mass killers. The 40-year-old armed himself with a pigging knife when he killed six people and injured 10 others at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre while experiencing a psychotic episode in April 2024. Details about his history and mental health decline were revealed during an inquest into the tragedy, which ended when the knife-wielding Cauchi was shot dead by a senior police officer. The Toowoomba man had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen after experiencing hallucinations. He was successfully treated for decades through a combination of anti-psychotic medication and psychiatric treatment in the public and later private systems. Cauchi was a "high-functioning" schizophrenic who had a university degree, coming top in his class, and could speak German and Mandarin, his mother later told Queensland police. By June 2019 he had been weaned off the two drugs he was taking after he complained about the medicines' side-effects. Eight months later, he moved to Brisbane to study to become an English teacher but was cut off from his psychiatric sessions as COVID-19 swept across the world. He fell off the radar of mental health professionals from that point. But numerous interactions with Queensland police between 2021 and 2023 should have signalled something was wrong, the inquest into the mass stabbing heard. Three times - in October 2020, November 2020 and May 2021 - Cauchi was pulled over by Brisbane highway patrol officers when they witnessed his erratic driving. It included rapidly braking and accelerating, and swerving into adjacent lanes. On each of those occasions, he told officers he was schizophrenic but unmedicated. In May 2021, he told a senior constable he did not realise he was driving in the dangerous manner. "You didn't realise you were braking and then accelerating and then braking and then accelerating?" the officer asked. "No, no," Cauchi replied. The then-37-year-old had been on his way to charity Wesley Mission to get food. He received a warning from police. The same month, police were called to an apartment complex in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point. They had been notified of a man screaming and the sounds of someone being hit. When Cauchi answered his door, he told officers he had been slamming his fridge. Just over a year later, he made repeated phone calls to a Toowoomba girls high school asking permission to watch events like swimming carnivals, netball and gymnastics. A concerned staff member notified police. From around 2022, Cauchi's online search history showed his interest in disturbing topics such as serial killers, mass stabbings and weapons. "Five best assault rifles in the world," one search read. "14 bands that serial killers loved," another said. On an evening in January 2023, Cauchi called police to his parents' Toowoomba home, accusing his father Andrew of stealing his military knives. One was the same type of knife later used in the shopping centre attack. By that stage, Cauchi had quit studying to be a teacher and returned to live with his parents after his unit lease ran out. His mother Michele told police her son had been up at 3am making noises and stamping his feet. Cauchi's father took the knives and gave them to a friend to look after because he was worried about his son having them in his current mental state. "He's been in a rage and he was pushing us around a little bit," Mrs Cauchi said. Cauchi claimed he would be made homeless, left bankrupt and killed if the knives were not returned. Mrs Cauchi pleaded with officers that her son needed help. "He's gone too far now. He doesn't know he is sick," she said. "I don't know how we're gonna get into treatment really. Unless he does something drastic." Speaking with another officer, Cauchi was asked about his mental health. "Yeah, it's been, um, terrific, actually ... really good," he said. Cauchi's mental condition was never seen by police as being so bad that he needed involuntary treatment, the inquest was told. But one of the officers who attended the family home was concerned enough to email the police mental health incident co-ordinator about a follow-up the night after the knife-related call-out. That email was seen but nothing further was done. Fifteen months later, Cauchi had become homeless and was living in Sydney's eastern suburbs before he stepped into the Bondi shopping centre and murdered six people with his knife. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Top of his class at university and with the ability to speak three languages, the future looked bright for Joel Cauchi. But a series of fateful decisions would lead to him being overlooked by authorities and detached from the mental health system before he became one of Australia's worst mass killers. The 40-year-old armed himself with a pigging knife when he killed six people and injured 10 others at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre while experiencing a psychotic episode in April 2024. Details about his history and mental health decline were revealed during an inquest into the tragedy, which ended when the knife-wielding Cauchi was shot dead by a senior police officer. The Toowoomba man had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen after experiencing hallucinations. He was successfully treated for decades through a combination of anti-psychotic medication and psychiatric treatment in the public and later private systems. Cauchi was a "high-functioning" schizophrenic who had a university degree, coming top in his class, and could speak German and Mandarin, his mother later told Queensland police. By June 2019 he had been weaned off the two drugs he was taking after he complained about the medicines' side-effects. Eight months later, he moved to Brisbane to study to become an English teacher but was cut off from his psychiatric sessions as COVID-19 swept across the world. He fell off the radar of mental health professionals from that point. But numerous interactions with Queensland police between 2021 and 2023 should have signalled something was wrong, the inquest into the mass stabbing heard. Three times - in October 2020, November 2020 and May 2021 - Cauchi was pulled over by Brisbane highway patrol officers when they witnessed his erratic driving. It included rapidly braking and accelerating, and swerving into adjacent lanes. On each of those occasions, he told officers he was schizophrenic but unmedicated. In May 2021, he told a senior constable he did not realise he was driving in the dangerous manner. "You didn't realise you were braking and then accelerating and then braking and then accelerating?" the officer asked. "No, no," Cauchi replied. The then-37-year-old had been on his way to charity Wesley Mission to get food. He received a warning from police. The same month, police were called to an apartment complex in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point. They had been notified of a man screaming and the sounds of someone being hit. When Cauchi answered his door, he told officers he had been slamming his fridge. Just over a year later, he made repeated phone calls to a Toowoomba girls high school asking permission to watch events like swimming carnivals, netball and gymnastics. A concerned staff member notified police. From around 2022, Cauchi's online search history showed his interest in disturbing topics such as serial killers, mass stabbings and weapons. "Five best assault rifles in the world," one search read. "14 bands that serial killers loved," another said. On an evening in January 2023, Cauchi called police to his parents' Toowoomba home, accusing his father Andrew of stealing his military knives. One was the same type of knife later used in the shopping centre attack. By that stage, Cauchi had quit studying to be a teacher and returned to live with his parents after his unit lease ran out. His mother Michele told police her son had been up at 3am making noises and stamping his feet. Cauchi's father took the knives and gave them to a friend to look after because he was worried about his son having them in his current mental state. "He's been in a rage and he was pushing us around a little bit," Mrs Cauchi said. Cauchi claimed he would be made homeless, left bankrupt and killed if the knives were not returned. Mrs Cauchi pleaded with officers that her son needed help. "He's gone too far now. He doesn't know he is sick," she said. "I don't know how we're gonna get into treatment really. Unless he does something drastic." Speaking with another officer, Cauchi was asked about his mental health. "Yeah, it's been, um, terrific, actually ... really good," he said. Cauchi's mental condition was never seen by police as being so bad that he needed involuntary treatment, the inquest was told. But one of the officers who attended the family home was concerned enough to email the police mental health incident co-ordinator about a follow-up the night after the knife-related call-out. That email was seen but nothing further was done. Fifteen months later, Cauchi had become homeless and was living in Sydney's eastern suburbs before he stepped into the Bondi shopping centre and murdered six people with his knife. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Top of his class at university and with the ability to speak three languages, the future looked bright for Joel Cauchi. But a series of fateful decisions would lead to him being overlooked by authorities and detached from the mental health system before he became one of Australia's worst mass killers. The 40-year-old armed himself with a pigging knife when he killed six people and injured 10 others at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre while experiencing a psychotic episode in April 2024. Details about his history and mental health decline were revealed during an inquest into the tragedy, which ended when the knife-wielding Cauchi was shot dead by a senior police officer. The Toowoomba man had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen after experiencing hallucinations. He was successfully treated for decades through a combination of anti-psychotic medication and psychiatric treatment in the public and later private systems. Cauchi was a "high-functioning" schizophrenic who had a university degree, coming top in his class, and could speak German and Mandarin, his mother later told Queensland police. By June 2019 he had been weaned off the two drugs he was taking after he complained about the medicines' side-effects. Eight months later, he moved to Brisbane to study to become an English teacher but was cut off from his psychiatric sessions as COVID-19 swept across the world. He fell off the radar of mental health professionals from that point. But numerous interactions with Queensland police between 2021 and 2023 should have signalled something was wrong, the inquest into the mass stabbing heard. Three times - in October 2020, November 2020 and May 2021 - Cauchi was pulled over by Brisbane highway patrol officers when they witnessed his erratic driving. It included rapidly braking and accelerating, and swerving into adjacent lanes. On each of those occasions, he told officers he was schizophrenic but unmedicated. In May 2021, he told a senior constable he did not realise he was driving in the dangerous manner. "You didn't realise you were braking and then accelerating and then braking and then accelerating?" the officer asked. "No, no," Cauchi replied. The then-37-year-old had been on his way to charity Wesley Mission to get food. He received a warning from police. The same month, police were called to an apartment complex in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point. They had been notified of a man screaming and the sounds of someone being hit. When Cauchi answered his door, he told officers he had been slamming his fridge. Just over a year later, he made repeated phone calls to a Toowoomba girls high school asking permission to watch events like swimming carnivals, netball and gymnastics. A concerned staff member notified police. From around 2022, Cauchi's online search history showed his interest in disturbing topics such as serial killers, mass stabbings and weapons. "Five best assault rifles in the world," one search read. "14 bands that serial killers loved," another said. On an evening in January 2023, Cauchi called police to his parents' Toowoomba home, accusing his father Andrew of stealing his military knives. One was the same type of knife later used in the shopping centre attack. By that stage, Cauchi had quit studying to be a teacher and returned to live with his parents after his unit lease ran out. His mother Michele told police her son had been up at 3am making noises and stamping his feet. Cauchi's father took the knives and gave them to a friend to look after because he was worried about his son having them in his current mental state. "He's been in a rage and he was pushing us around a little bit," Mrs Cauchi said. Cauchi claimed he would be made homeless, left bankrupt and killed if the knives were not returned. Mrs Cauchi pleaded with officers that her son needed help. "He's gone too far now. He doesn't know he is sick," she said. "I don't know how we're gonna get into treatment really. Unless he does something drastic." Speaking with another officer, Cauchi was asked about his mental health. "Yeah, it's been, um, terrific, actually ... really good," he said. Cauchi's mental condition was never seen by police as being so bad that he needed involuntary treatment, the inquest was told. But one of the officers who attended the family home was concerned enough to email the police mental health incident co-ordinator about a follow-up the night after the knife-related call-out. That email was seen but nothing further was done. Fifteen months later, Cauchi had become homeless and was living in Sydney's eastern suburbs before he stepped into the Bondi shopping centre and murdered six people with his knife. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Top of his class at university and with the ability to speak three languages, the future looked bright for Joel Cauchi. But a series of fateful decisions would lead to him being overlooked by authorities and detached from the mental health system before he became one of Australia's worst mass killers. The 40-year-old armed himself with a pigging knife when he killed six people and injured 10 others at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre while experiencing a psychotic episode in April 2024. Details about his history and mental health decline were revealed during an inquest into the tragedy, which ended when the knife-wielding Cauchi was shot dead by a senior police officer. The Toowoomba man had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen after experiencing hallucinations. He was successfully treated for decades through a combination of anti-psychotic medication and psychiatric treatment in the public and later private systems. Cauchi was a "high-functioning" schizophrenic who had a university degree, coming top in his class, and could speak German and Mandarin, his mother later told Queensland police. By June 2019 he had been weaned off the two drugs he was taking after he complained about the medicines' side-effects. Eight months later, he moved to Brisbane to study to become an English teacher but was cut off from his psychiatric sessions as COVID-19 swept across the world. He fell off the radar of mental health professionals from that point. But numerous interactions with Queensland police between 2021 and 2023 should have signalled something was wrong, the inquest into the mass stabbing heard. Three times - in October 2020, November 2020 and May 2021 - Cauchi was pulled over by Brisbane highway patrol officers when they witnessed his erratic driving. It included rapidly braking and accelerating, and swerving into adjacent lanes. On each of those occasions, he told officers he was schizophrenic but unmedicated. In May 2021, he told a senior constable he did not realise he was driving in the dangerous manner. "You didn't realise you were braking and then accelerating and then braking and then accelerating?" the officer asked. "No, no," Cauchi replied. The then-37-year-old had been on his way to charity Wesley Mission to get food. He received a warning from police. The same month, police were called to an apartment complex in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point. They had been notified of a man screaming and the sounds of someone being hit. When Cauchi answered his door, he told officers he had been slamming his fridge. Just over a year later, he made repeated phone calls to a Toowoomba girls high school asking permission to watch events like swimming carnivals, netball and gymnastics. A concerned staff member notified police. From around 2022, Cauchi's online search history showed his interest in disturbing topics such as serial killers, mass stabbings and weapons. "Five best assault rifles in the world," one search read. "14 bands that serial killers loved," another said. On an evening in January 2023, Cauchi called police to his parents' Toowoomba home, accusing his father Andrew of stealing his military knives. One was the same type of knife later used in the shopping centre attack. By that stage, Cauchi had quit studying to be a teacher and returned to live with his parents after his unit lease ran out. His mother Michele told police her son had been up at 3am making noises and stamping his feet. Cauchi's father took the knives and gave them to a friend to look after because he was worried about his son having them in his current mental state. "He's been in a rage and he was pushing us around a little bit," Mrs Cauchi said. Cauchi claimed he would be made homeless, left bankrupt and killed if the knives were not returned. Mrs Cauchi pleaded with officers that her son needed help. "He's gone too far now. He doesn't know he is sick," she said. "I don't know how we're gonna get into treatment really. Unless he does something drastic." Speaking with another officer, Cauchi was asked about his mental health. "Yeah, it's been, um, terrific, actually ... really good," he said. Cauchi's mental condition was never seen by police as being so bad that he needed involuntary treatment, the inquest was told. But one of the officers who attended the family home was concerned enough to email the police mental health incident co-ordinator about a follow-up the night after the knife-related call-out. That email was seen but nothing further was done. Fifteen months later, Cauchi had become homeless and was living in Sydney's eastern suburbs before he stepped into the Bondi shopping centre and murdered six people with his knife. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
Perth Now
09-05-2025
- Perth Now
From treated to tragic: the deterioration of a killer
Top of his class at university and with the ability to speak three languages, the future looked bright for Joel Cauchi. But a series of fateful decisions would lead to him being overlooked by authorities and detached from the mental health system before he became one of Australia's worst mass killers. The 40-year-old armed himself with a pigging knife when he killed six people and injured 10 others at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre while experiencing a psychotic episode in April 2024. Details about his history and mental health decline were revealed during an inquest into the tragedy, which ended when the knife-wielding Cauchi was shot dead by a senior police officer. The Toowoomba man had been diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teen after experiencing hallucinations. He was successfully treated for decades through a combination of anti-psychotic medication and psychiatric treatment in the public and later private systems. Cauchi was a "high-functioning" schizophrenic who had a university degree, coming top in his class, and could speak German and Mandarin, his mother later told Queensland police. By June 2019 he had been weaned off the two drugs he was taking after he complained about the medicines' side-effects. Eight months later, he moved to Brisbane to study to become an English teacher but was cut off from his psychiatric sessions as COVID-19 swept across the world. He fell off the radar of mental health professionals from that point. But numerous interactions with Queensland police between 2021 and 2023 should have signalled something was wrong, the inquest into the mass stabbing heard. Three times - in October 2020, November 2020 and May 2021 - Cauchi was pulled over by Brisbane highway patrol officers when they witnessed his erratic driving. It included rapidly braking and accelerating, and swerving into adjacent lanes. On each of those occasions, he told officers he was schizophrenic but unmedicated. In May 2021, he told a senior constable he did not realise he was driving in the dangerous manner. "You didn't realise you were braking and then accelerating and then braking and then accelerating?" the officer asked. "No, no," Cauchi replied. The then-37-year-old had been on his way to charity Wesley Mission to get food. He received a warning from police. The same month, police were called to an apartment complex in the inner-Brisbane suburb of Kangaroo Point. They had been notified of a man screaming and the sounds of someone being hit. When Cauchi answered his door, he told officers he had been slamming his fridge. Just over a year later, he made repeated phone calls to a Toowoomba girls high school asking permission to watch events like swimming carnivals, netball and gymnastics. A concerned staff member notified police. From around 2022, Cauchi's online search history showed his interest in disturbing topics such as serial killers, mass stabbings and weapons. "Five best assault rifles in the world," one search read. "14 bands that serial killers loved," another said. On an evening in January 2023, Cauchi called police to his parents' Toowoomba home, accusing his father Andrew of stealing his military knives. One was the same type of knife later used in the shopping centre attack. By that stage, Cauchi had quit studying to be a teacher and returned to live with his parents after his unit lease ran out. His mother Michele told police her son had been up at 3am making noises and stamping his feet. Cauchi's father took the knives and gave them to a friend to look after because he was worried about his son having them in his current mental state. "He's been in a rage and he was pushing us around a little bit," Mrs Cauchi said. Cauchi claimed he would be made homeless, left bankrupt and killed if the knives were not returned. Mrs Cauchi pleaded with officers that her son needed help. "He's gone too far now. He doesn't know he is sick," she said. "I don't know how we're gonna get into treatment really. Unless he does something drastic." Speaking with another officer, Cauchi was asked about his mental health. "Yeah, it's been, um, terrific, actually ... really good," he said. Cauchi's mental condition was never seen by police as being so bad that he needed involuntary treatment, the inquest was told. But one of the officers who attended the family home was concerned enough to email the police mental health incident co-ordinator about a follow-up the night after the knife-related call-out. That email was seen but nothing further was done. Fifteen months later, Cauchi had become homeless and was living in Sydney's eastern suburbs before he stepped into the Bondi shopping centre and murdered six people with his knife. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
The Guardian
28-03-2025
- The Guardian
Fears ‘Lucky Box' vending machines giving children ‘a taste of gambling'
The bright yellow box, covered with cute cartoon characters, sits among other vending machines and arcade games in one of Sydney's busiest shopping centres. Behind its glass screen, the so-called Lucky Box is packed with neatly stacked rows of mystery boxes, each about the size of a children's lunchbox. The boxes look identical, but each holds a hidden prize. Pay $20, pick a box number and the machine will spit it out, like a packet of chips from a standard vending machine. On Lucky Box's website and Instagram account, people show off PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles they have won. Other photos show children, teens and adults holding up cards identifying their prizes, from movie tickets and portable phone chargers to AirPods, Dyson hair curlers and UFC tickets. When Guardian Australia tried a machine, we unboxed a fake crystal called a 'rainbow catcher'. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'Major' prizes come via a hologram ticket in the box, and Lucky Box posts out the prize. Ahead of Christmas, Lucky Box promoted a $7,999 prize (2 x return flights to Japan, 85-inch television, PS5 console and a Lego Hogwarts castle). Gambling reform advocates are concerned the machines could be encouraging young children and teens to gamble and say they want restrictions placed on their use. But the machines fall into a 'grey area' of regulation, advocates say, making it unclear which agency is responsible for their oversight. There are 35 Lucky Box machines at locations along Australia's east coast, according to the company's website: 25 in New South Wales, four in Victoria and six in Queensland. The Lucky Box website says each box 'contains an item packed on a random basis out of a large selection of items'. There is 'no guarantee' on what each Lucky Box may contain, it says, or that any box contains 'any of the prizes detailed on any signage at any point in time'. Wesley Mission, a long-term campaigner for stronger gambling restrictions, has reported Lucky Box to the NSW department of hospitality and gaming, which oversees the state's gambling regulator – the Liquor and Gaming Authority. The mission's chief executive officer, Jim Wackett, argues Lucky Boxes 'are a gambling machine' and 'should be treated as such'. 'In the current form, they should not be in places where people under the age of 18 can access them,' he says. 'They should not be in public facilities the way they are at the moment.' But, as Wackett points out, there is an 'impasse' over who is in charge of regulating the machines and whether they can, in fact, be considered a form of gambling. But the agency does not consider Lucky Box its responsibility because the machines are in unlicensed venues, such as shopping centres, rather than pubs, clubs or casinos. A spokesperson for the agency confirmed it had received a report regarding Lucky Box but it had determined they did not fall within their jurisdiction after assessing the product. Fair Trading NSW does not consider Lucky Box to fall under its jurisdiction either. The consumer regulator declined to comment when contacted by Guardian Australia. After Wesley Mission reported Lucky Box to the state government, the LGA referred the company to NSW police for an investigation into whether it raises any issues under the state's Unlawful Gambling Act. However, a NSW police spokesperson said they assessed the referral and determined it was not a police matter as it 'does not fall under relevant legislation'. On its website, Lucky Box says its 'core mission' is 'creating to [sic] surprise and delight the world!' and that 'we use our intelligent vending machines to provide players with valuable and amazing surprises!' In detailed terms and conditions on its website Lucky Box say their 'product information and any products sold … are intended to comply with Australian laws and regulations'. According to documents filed with the corporate regulator, Lucky Box is owned by the company JB Equipment Service Pty Ltd, at a NSW address. Assoc Prof Alex Russell, from the University of Central Queensland's experimental gambling research lab, says there are 'a lot of similar products' to Lucky Box that blur the lines of what is categorised as gambling. 'It's a tricky one, because … the question of whether it's gambling or not is often really quite technical,' Russell says. 'The definition of gambling that we usually use is that you put something of value in [and] you're trying to win something of value, and there's a degree of chance in terms of whether you win or not.' Russell says whether or not Lucky Boxes constitute gambling is 'a bit of a murky one'. But he is concerned that these types of products are unregulated. 'They're available to people who are under 18, because they're not considered gambling products,' he says. Playing the Lucky Box machines mean 'young people are getting a taste of gambling, and there are some concerns that it might sort of groom them to take part in gambling later on'. Northern Sydney local health district recently conducted a study involving 175 year 10 students who were asked to submit photographs or screenshots, along with captions, of gambling advertisements or related activities they came across in their daily lives. Some students sent in photos of arcade games and prize box machines. Lucky Box was not specifically identified or mentioned in the study. 'Young people identified various arcade games and prize-box centres as having casino-style elements and considered them to be gambling-like activities that are directly marketed toward young people,' the study said. While the study said it wasn't clear to what extent young people's use of 'casino-style arcade games' influenced gambling behaviour and related harm later in life, it noted there were 'currently no regulations or restrictions on the use of these machines'. Wackett says the law should be changed to more clearly define what can be considered gambling. 'One of the issues is the law needs to be pretty black and white about what's allowed and what's not,' he says. 'It's not just these machines. We see lots of products developed which suit the word of the law, but not the intent of the law.' Guardian Australia has sought comment from Lucky Box.
The Guardian
04-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Australians lose more money to gambling in a year than government spends on aged care, report finds
Australians are losing more money to gambling each year than the federal government spends on aged care and almost as much as it spends on the national disability insurance scheme, a new report has found. The report by Equity Economics found that despite the cost-of-living crisis, the amount of money being lost to gambling has significantly increased. Expenditure on gambling has also risen faster than the cost of education, housing and inflation. 'There is a hidden, unspoken black hole in household budgets that government cost-of-living policies has failed to address,' the report said. 'This black hole is gambling losses. 'Governments have responded swiftly in recent years to the cost-of-living crisis, but there had been a complete policy vacuum on mitigating the cost-of-living impacts of gambling,' the report said. According to the report, Australians lose $31.5bn to the gambling industry each year. The authors drew a direct comparison to the $28.3bn the federal government spends on the aged care sector each year and the $35.2bn it allocates for the NDIS. 'Contrary to expectations, gambling expenditure relative to household expenditure has not decreased amidst the cost-of-living crisis,' the report said. 'Instead, it has continued to rise year on year after the temporary dip caused by Covid-19 venue and event closures, to return to pre-pandemic levels. 'Lower-income households are particularly vulnerable, as the rising cost of essential goods and services further squeezes already tight budgets, leaving even less room for unexpected expenses, emergencies, or discretionary spending.' Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The report was commissioned by the Alliance for Gambling Reform and Wesley Mission, which are both long-term campaigners for stronger restrictions on gambling advertising and operating hours. The alliance's chief executive, Martin Thomas, said gambling was often ignored as a cost-of-living impact on families. 'Gambling reforms, such as banning gambling advertising, represent a non-inflationary, low-cost suite of initiatives that would bring profound relief to families,' Thomas said. Wesley Mission's chief executive, Stu Cameron, said state and federal governments had not taken enough action to address 'spiralling gambling losses'. 'Every day we see the impact of gambling losses on families, yet for too long it has remained a hidden, unspoken black hole in household budgets that governments have failed to address,' Cameron said. 'There is overwhelming public support for banning gambling advertising. It's time for the major parties to stop dancing to the tune of the sports gambling industry and have the political will and moral courage to act in accordance with the community's wishes.' The Monash University associate professor Charles Livingstone has previously told Guardian Australia that gambling losses often increase during times of financial hardship because 'people gamble when they are desperate'. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion 'Desperate people often turn to desperate measures and some people unfortunately think they have an opportunity to win something,' Livingstone said. 'The more prevailing reason for this is people under stress are more likely to develop a gambling habit as it relieves their stress and that's the same reason why there are so many poker machines in areas of disadvantage.' The Equity Economics report said gambling losses 'disproportionately burden those households least able to afford them'. 'Given gambling's public health impact, addictive nature and significant negative externalities, coupled with insufficient regulation and widespread accessibility, there is a clear need for stronger government intervention,' the report said. On Tuesday, the NSW government announced it no longer planned to remove 9,500 poker machines from the state over the next five years, despite pledging to do so before the state election. During a parliamentary hearing, the state's gaming minister, David Harris, said the government's policy had changed after listening to advice from an independent panel on gambling reform. The panel's members included several groups that operate or profit from poker machines including Clubs NSW, the Australian Hotels Association, Gaming Technologies Australia and Leagues Clubs Australia. In Australia, Gambling Help Online is available on 1800 858 858. The National Debt Helpline is at 1800 007 007. In the UK, support for problem gambling can be found via the NHS National Problem Gambling Clinic on 020 7381 7722, or GamCare on 0808 8020 133. In the US, call the National Council on Problem Gambling at 800-GAMBLER or text 800GAM
