A Statement of the National Council of Churches in Australia (July 2000)

Introduction

Gambling is the seeking of gain at the expense of others, based solely on chance. Inevitably some gain while others lose.  In most cases a third party in the form of the promoter of the activity is the significant beneficiary.  Thus gambling is not simply an innocent pastime.  It has the potential to divert significant resources from other and more useful activities.  It opens the way for some to profit from the weakness of others.  These characteristics of gambling have made it a long-standing concern of the churches.

Gambling is a human activity with a very long history.  People gamble on a small scale in raffles and similar community pastimes.  People also gamble as part of a highly organised and well-promoted industry.  Historically, some churches have opposed gambling in principle, while others have been more concerned about its abuse.  This statement springs from the perception that, regardless of the principle behind gambling, its present state in the Australian community occasions great harm both to individuals and the community at large.  At the same time the Council recognises that gambling is a source of enjoyment for many people, who gamble without damage to themselves or others.

The Nature of the Council's Concerns

The following well attested facts demonstrate the nature of the Council's concerns about gambling.

• The last two decades have witnessed an expansion of gambling facilities in all the States of Australia.  This expansion has been in the availability of gambling at local, centralised and electronic venues.  The local expansions have been mostly in places of entertainment such as hotels and licensed clubs.  The centralised locations are in the form of casinos, while the electronic venues occur through the Internet.
• Significant commercial interests have entered the gambling industry and increased its economic and political power.
• The licensing of gambling venues has increased the income of State governments to such an extent that they now rely on it for a significant proportion of their budgets.
• The availability and promotion of gambling has diverted resources from other uses, particularly from families.
• Persons susceptible to problem gambling (2.1% of Australians and 15% of regular gamblers) have increased availability and encouragement.
• Controls on the involvement of criminals in the gambling industry remain inadequate.

These developments have been demonstrated in a number of government and non-government reports, including that of the Productivity Commission in November 1999. 

As a result of these features of the growth of gambling, a number of subsequent concerns arise.  They include:

The nature of advertising and promotion

• Advertising for gambling invariably emphasises the possibility of winning without setting out the realistic probabilities. 
• Gamblers are represented in ideal terms as young, attractive and happy.  They do not represent the norm of actual gamblers.
• Promotion may target cultural tendencies in ethnic communities towards belief in fate and chance.

Protection of problem gamblers

• Advertising and promotional material fails to warn problem gamblers or to indicate where help can be obtained.  This lack compares unfavourably with the compulsory warnings on tobacco products.

Conflict of interest

• Government dependence on gambling revenue conflicts with its regulatory and consumer protection responsibilities.
• Government dependence on gambling revenue acts as a barrier to its duty to promote responsible taxation as a civic duty.

Regulation 

Apart from a dependence on gambling income, governments are compromised by the commercial and political power of the large players in the gambling industry.  Such interests are prone to exploit their position as apparently legitimate interests and their diverse corporate power.  Regulation thus becomes a politically risky activity.

Recommendations

For these reasons the Executive of the National Council of Churches in Australia makes the following statement:

• The Executive supports the moves of the Commonwealth Government to seek a greater regulation of Internet gambling.  It endorses the proposed moratorium on new licenses.  It rejects the claims by some State governments that, since people will gamble, the income should stay at home.
• The Executive supports moves that will decrease the accessibility of gambling.  These moves include, but are not limited to:
  • the reduction in the number of gambling venues and gambling machines;
  • increased information about the risks of problem gambling;
  • the removal of ATMs and credit facilities from gambling venues;
  • increased publicity at gambling venues about the winning odds of specific methods of gaming, particularly gaming machines;
  • increased provisions for community control.
• The Executive supports moves to increase and monitor the resources available for the counselling and other treatment of problem gamblers.
• The Executive supports increased measure to encourage persons to exclude themselves from gambling venues.
• The Executive supports moves that would increase public knowledge about the gambling industry, its benefits and disadvantages.
• The Executive supports the imposition of controls on the advertising of gambling that would ensure a more realistic presentation of its essential characteristics.
• The Executive supports those policy and practice changes that would reduce criminal involvement in the gambling industry.
• The Executive urges governments to consider seriously the extent to which their dependence on revenue from gambling inhibits their capacity to act responsibly in its control.