On November 28th, 2007, the only remaining thing to stop the state's addiction to gaming profit is to increase the funding they receive, according to a problem gambling forum. The meeting organized by the Greens and being held at the NSW Parliament House in Sydney, Australia, were informed that the state government's reliance on gaming revenue had slowed down efforts to stop gambling addiction.
The NSW government has come under intense criticism in the past months for allowing gambling expansion in the state. NSW officials have allowed keno games to be offered in all pubs. Officials are also considering online wagering exchange Betfair to operate in NSW. It was also announced that the Labor party has received a $100,000 donation from the Star City Casino only months before the government approve the license renewal of the Star City Casino.
The Keno issue has drawn criticism from Prime Minister-elect Kevin Rudd, who commented in mid-September that he is growing concerned about the increasing dependence of states on the profit that they are earning from gaming. Mr. Rudd is also concerned about the effect of poker machines in the society and said that he will be looking for ways to help states look for other sources of revenues.
The former director of NSW Council of Social Services Gary Moore commented that there was a growing need to fix federal funding of the states so that they will not need to rely on gaming profits. The government of NSW receives more than $1.6 billion from gaming annually, a result that is predicted to improve to $1.85 billion by 2011.
Mr. Moore commented that if Prime Minister Rudd is true to his promise during the election period he could place good financial rewards that would help state governments pay for school and hospital construction. He added that they really need financial reforms in different areas but it should be reform in a way that government will become less reliant on gaming.
NSW Greens gambling spokesperson Lee Rhiannon supported the call for federal government intervention. In the upper house of NSW, the Greens endorsed a motion that will establish a gaming summit. The government and the critics of the plan collaborate to quash the motion. Gerald Byrne from the Salvation Army commented that they want people to know that gambling addiction take a horrible toll on the society and it is high time to review the situation.
[09-12]
John M. Thorpe
