SYDNEY (Reuters) ? They are a silent army, formed in ranks inside clubs and hotels around Australia, desperately battling slot machines in the hope of winning an elusive jackpot.
Australia has 197,000 slot machines, called "pokies," the highest number of machines per head in the world. Slot machines feed 62 percent of the A$19 billion-plus annual gaming sector.
But the gamblers, largely working-class Australians, are on a collision course with the Labor government as it tries to tackle problem gambling, a battle that can impact Prime Minister Julia Gillard's political future.
Gillard has pledged to force all slot gamblers to register and nominate a loss limit before sitting down to play. This is aimed at stopping problem gamblers going over their limit.
But the gamblers say this infringes their rights, as no other gambling venture requires registration, and would be a barrier to casual players.
"I love the pokies," said Anna Robinson as she played "The Phantom" slot machine hoping for a row of skulls and the flashing lights and bells which herald a jackpot win.
"I hate what the government is trying to do. It's my money I put in these machines and they have no right to dictate how I spend it," said Robinson, a member of Sydney's City Bowlers Club which operates 120 slot machines.
The powerful club industry, with 4,000 clubs and 10 million members, has launched a multi-media campaign against the curbs, targeting 33 marginal Labor seats ahead of the next election due mid-2013.
If the government lost those seats it would be decimated as it only holds 72 seats in the 150-seat parliament and currently relies on a handful of independent and a Green MP to rule.
"They see the potential for destruction," said Anthony Ball, chief executive of Clubs Australia, referring to the local Labor MPs being targeted.
Clubs Australia has erected posters in the foyer of clubs with the face of the local government politician and the question: "Why Are You Voting To Hurt Our Local Community?"
The majority of the slot machines in Australia are in Labor seats.
Thursday, Gillard tightened her grip on power when an opposition lawmaker suddenly defected to become Speaker boosting her chances of surviving a full term in office and reducing reliance on independent MPs to pass laws.
ATTACK ON LABOR HEARTLAND
The minority government snared power in 2010 by one-seat after gaining the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie in exchange for a pledge to curb problem slot machine gambling.
"About 100,000 Australians are believed to be problem gamblers," said Wilkie. "Add to those figures the five to 10 people adversely affected by every problem gambler and the total number of people touched by problem gamblers is huge."
The government in November increased its parliamentary majority to three, but still relies on a handful of independents and a Green MP to pass legislation.
"The government is not so foolish to think that they can burn me. The government will continue to pursue the poker machine reforms that have been agreed to," said Wilkie.
Around 600,000 Australians play slots weekly, but problem gamblers lose A$5 billion a year, or 40 percent of total slot machine losses, a recent parliamentary report said.
Australia's club industry says the scheme would cost up to A$5 billion to introduce and reduce revenue by between 30 to 40 percent, or A$4.9 to $6.5 billion annually, threatening the existence of small clubs and the businesses that supply them.
"They (previous Labor governments) allowed clubs to grow because they wanted working class people in the suburbs to go to a nice facility. To have a punt (gamble), have an affordable meal, see a show -- not everyone in Sydney can come into the Opera House for their entertainment," said Ball.
"Club heartland in the western suburbs of Sydney is also Labor heartland. Its strange that Labor has taken to attacking their own," he said.
Tax from slot machines is a major source of revenue for state governments, representing more than half of all gaming tax revenue, or around 10 percent of state tax revenue.
Listed Australian firms that rely on slot-machine revenues include gaming and wagering groups Tabcorp Holdings, Tatts and Crown as well as Aristocrat Leisure, the world's second-largest maker of slot machines.
But clubs operate the majority of slot machines, 115,900 compared with 69,600 in hotels and 12,300 in casinos.
Church and welfare groups say the social and financial costs of problem gambling are around A$4.7 billion annually.
"I urge federal (Labor) members in marginal seats to hold their ground," said Reverend Tim Costello, head of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce, adding polls showed three quarters of Australians support the planned curbs.
"These (gambling) limits can be as high or as low as the player likes. No one is telling them how much they can or can't spend. But once 'in the zone', problem gamblers say they can't make safe choices," he said.
"JEKYLL AND HYDE" POKIE ADDICTS
A recent parliamentary report on electronic gaming machines cited family breakdowns, homes and businesses lost, and suicide, due to slot machine addiction.
It said players could lose over A$1,000 an hour.
"Within weeks of beginning to play them, I was hooked," said nurse Sue Pinkerton, a former slot machine addict.
"I went in eight weeks from being a happy-go-lucky, socially active mother and friend to a restless, isolated, depressed and suicidal woman," Pinkerton told the parliamentary inquiry.
In the depth of addiction Pinkerton spent six hours a day, five days a week in front of slot machines. In four years she lost A$65,000, all she earned and some of her husband's income.
She said there was always an inner tension when she sat in front of a slot machine -- she was being torn between the excitement of winning and the despair of losing.
"I often compare it to the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome," said former gambling addict Gabriela Byrne.
Computer technology had resulted in high intensity machines designed for continuous gambling, said the parliamentary report.
Problem gamblers told the parliamentary inquiry they supported a pre-commitment system, adding it should be linked to a self-exclusion policy which would allow problem gamblers to ban themselves from using slot machines across Australia.
Clubs says mandatory curbs will not stem problem gambling, but do support voluntary pre-commitment gambling levels as these will not impact on casual gamblers.
Clubs say the average spend per hour on a slot machine is A$11, rising to A$29 at the largest club in Australia.
The country's largest clubs are open 24 hours, seven days a week, with resort-style facilities and entertainment, while the smallest operate out of virtually one room buildings and are the heart of isolated communities.
"For many its their second living room," said Ball. "Many people are emotionally tied to their club, they played golf there for decades, played bowls, their kids played footy for clubs. There is a real connection and they're worried."
(Reporting by Michael Perry; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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