Home alone makes it easier to gamble the lot, by Peter Newell - The Sydney Morning Herald - 30th June 2008

I like to think I know a thing or two about gambling.

After all, I've been associated with the industry for almost 40 years, the past decade as president of my local club. I have also spent countless Saturday afternoons at the track with a form guide full of tips and a pocket full of losing tickets.

However, because of my role for the past three years chairman of ClubsNSW, people have been reluctant to see my warnings about online gambling as anything more than scaremongering about a competitor to the club industry.

Perhaps last week's revelation by the Herald that people are being randomly called and offered $60 of free betting credit if they go to a sports betting website might start to change things.

The marketing practices of these companies do not stop with random phone calls. Sportsbet offers up to $100 when you join. Centrebet, whose gambling revenue increased 49 per cent last year, offers a $100 refund on your first bet. We have all heard it said before: the first one is free. Some of these online companies will even call you if your account has been inactive for a time and tell you they have placed $50 credit in it, but only for the next 24 hours.

The typical profile of an internet gambler varies according to the type of betting (for instance, casino or sports) but internet gamblers have a one-in-five chance of being a "severe problem gambler", according to recent report from the school of psychology at the University of Sydney (Monaghan 2007).

That's right, 20 per cent of all online gamblers are severe problem gamblers. To place it in perspective, "land-based" severe problem gambling is 0.8 per cent.

The US Government has responded to the problems of internet gambling by making it illegal. To ensure the law is upheld, federal laws restrict US banks and credit card companies from processing transactions to and from internet gambling sites.

The Australian Government permits us to bet with online casinos if they are based overseas. However, no restrictions apply to online sports betting companies such as Tabcorp, whose internet revenue grew 23 per cent last year, topping $1 billion for the first time.

The appeal of internet gambling is obvious. It is confidential, available 24 hours a day, accessible from anywhere and accepts credit cards. This appeal applies equally to both responsible and irresponsible gamblers.

People such as the senator-elect Nick Xenophon demonise poker machines and those who play them. The consequence of such unfounded claims is to drive gamblers away from the supportive environment of the clubs and into the unregulated world of the internet.

Consider for a moment what I mean by support for gamblers. In a club you bet only with cash. Online gambling companies accept credit cards, allowing you to bet until your card is at its limit. When you place this first credit-card bet, online betting companies give you 90 days to provide photo identification, creating enormous potential for fraud.

Every club offers a problem gambling service as well as dedicated staff to speak with those who request help. When you gamble online you deal with a computer. Clubs allow you to identify yourself as someone who is better off not gambling. Should you later attempt to gamble, the club can use reasonable force to prevent you from entering the venue.

The Family First senator Stephen Fielding is pushing a bill that if successful would ban poker machines from clubs, while leaving them at casinos and race tracks. Not only does his bill fail to recognise that problem gambling rates have fallen by up to 50 per cent in recent years, largely thanks to the work of the club industry and state governments, he also fails to acknowledge the real threat of online gambling. How ironic that a politician would campaign to ban gambling inside clubs when it is so clearly the safest way to gamble.

Peter Newell is chairman of Clubs NSW.

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