Gambling with our money
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A fascinating, and depressing, graph popped up in The Economist this week …
It got us thinking. If every Australian over 17 loses an average of $1300 a year on gambling — that’s about $22 billion for the whole country each year — how does this compare with the money we actually spend on tangible things? And how does it compare to the money that we could spend on important or valuable things?
The statisticians describe it as “loss per resident adult”. Shouldn’t it really be described as “the misguided extravagance of a rich country that needs to get its priorities and moral compass readjusted”? |
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12 Comments
We’re a bunch of losers.
It’s not actually lost - just redistributed. But it could be used much more productively.
@ Bill you took the words out of my mouth. But as far as productivity, who knows?
Presumably the shareholders who will eventually enrich themselves will spend it in myriad ways, further investments, savings, consumer goods or whatever. Who is to say that it won’t be used more productively than would be the case of someone silly enough to stick into the maw of a poker machine, or on the result of a horse race.
Voluntary tax on stupidity….
Mostly contributed by the poor and desperate….
At which point on the graph does this stop being true ?
@STEPHEN MARTIN Posted Friday, 20 May 2011 at 4:04 pm
The notion of redistribution only goes so far. Quite a bit is actually lost as far as Australia is concerned. A significant fraction goes to one of the richest families in Oz, Packer, and he has shipped serious amounts offshore. Indeed he himself has lost a lot in Las Vegas, by spending billions on a new casino at precisely the wrong time in the economic cycle. His investments in Macao may be more secure but, even if he were to repatriate any profits back to Australia, his father famously boasted about tax avoidance (or in polite company, minimization).
So, like most things in Australia — mining for example. News Ltd profits.
If we are going to allow gambling it should be totally government run like in Hong Kong — where the only legal gambling is the horses run by the HK Jockey Club whose profits build universities, hospitals and parks etc. The HKJC has a stellar reputation as one of the best run and least corrupt such organizations in the world, certainly compared to when gambling is run by private interests (such as neighbouring Macao).
(I do not know if the data for HK in the graph includes their gambling in nearby Macao.)
@ michael r james Your points are well made. I must say I like your government run gambling - not that it would happen in Oz.
Today a distressed friend confided the plight of his 80 year-old parents: due to poker machine addiction they lost their home four years ago and have been renting a very modest flat. Now it appears they can no longer afford the rent as they have continued to feed the poker machines with their meagre funds. My friend now faces the prospect of financially supporting his gambling-addicted parents.
How did we allow this insanity to get such a grip in our country? I rate casino owners just below arms manufacturers.
As when we see figures for alcohol consumption, given that substantial numbers don’t drink or gamble, the full horror of how much some people are losing comes crashing through waffle.
I can’t believe the campaign re the pokie restriftions which last week (in regional news at least) showed the massive sums Bathrust, dubbo, Orange clubs were claiming they would lose through more restricted pokie use by the patrons without the slightest awareness that, by definiton the amounts ($3-5M in the three mentioned) would otherwise be, potentially availbale for little things like, you know, food & clothing for the kids.
Well they didn’t get $1300.00 out of me ? more like $13.00. Its a dumb tax for people that cannot add up the %”s . I say ” blow up the pokies” was a good song .
Just change the damn note sucker on the front of the machine back to a 20 cents slot. Even the most harden of gamblers would be hard pressed to lose big money that way.
5c, Brady. Then there would be significant non-gambling time while you’re trying to pick the little f-ckers up off the floor.