Whittlesea council will join an alliance campaigning for reforms to Australia’s gambling industry.
Councillors last week unanimously voted to support the Alliance for Gambling Reform, a newly formed group spearheaded by World Vision Australia chief executive Tim Costello and Monash University’s senior lecturer in the school of public health, Charles Livingstone.
The alliance is focusing on poker machine-related harm and campaigning for a $1 per spin bet limit in Victoria, along with licensing changes to address the proliferation of gambling machines in vulnerable communities.
Cr Sam Alessi said it was important the council join the alliance to address the rate of money being lost on poker machines in the outer north.
“This is an incredibly important issue in our municipality considering we have reached over the $100 million mark per year that’s being lost in poker machines … it’s so hard for councils to argue at the commission because the commission is on another planet,” Cr Alessi said.
“The way they assess applications is not conducive to what’s happening on the ground in local communities.”
So far, 20 Australian councils have agreed to support the alliance, which entails hosting community campaigns and partnering with local services, community leaders and businesses to inform them about the health risks of gambling.
The Whittlesea campaign will start next year.
