By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Pokies venues are an inviting lure for Greater Dandenong’s vulnerable, says counsellor Bic Gresty.
Ms Gresty and her team at Springvale Indo-Chinese Mutual Assistance Association (SICMAA) have counselled 250 problem gamblers from the Vietnamese community in the past two years.
Pokies are clearly the biggest problem for them, she says.
Many of her clients are without work due to lacking English and job skills.
They are barely surviving on Centrelink benefits – and pouring their meagre income into gaming machines.
“They get bored, they get homesick so they go the pokies. You don’t need language, you don’t need any skill, you just pop money in the slot.
“The pokies are a very inviting place. You have a cheap lunch, free tea and coffee, heating and cooling – while people can’t afford that at home.
“They look at the jackpot, the car they can win. At Springvale they run the music concerts and a barbecue.
“They make it a friendly, inviting atmosphere.”
The council area’s residents are disadvantaged across so many measures – crime, unemployment, homelessness and welfare dependency.
They are least able to pay the $121 million reaped by the 950-plus poker machines in their locale. Each Greater Dandenong adult spends on average $965 a year.
Then there’s the other costs – the thefts, frauds and other crimes committed by problem gamblers, Ms Gresty says.
“It’s not deniable that pokies are a huge problem within Greater Dandenong.”
She says it’s hard work to dampen a gambling addiction, with relapses sometimes triggered by emotional turmoil or family violence or a lack of hobbies.
“People come back if they don’t have anything else. They escape those issues in their lives.”
SICMAA runs health forums and programs to warn the public of gambling addiction’s harms, as a prevention measure – and to encourage other pursuits.
After all, prevention is better than the cure, Ms Gresty says.
“In Victoria, we spend nearly $6 billion a year on gambling. Think of how we can build our communities in better ways with that money.”
• Greater Dandenong Council is hosting a public forum on gambling harm with State Election candidates.
It is at Dandenong Civic Centre on Wednesday, 7 November from 6.30-8.30pm.
