The Govt has the consumer index that shows peoples retail spending, like food & clothing .

But included in that index is gambling.
The retail association has tried for years for the Govt to have gambling removed from that index , because it does not give a true indication as to whats being spent through retail.

Example the association gave was spending may have gone up 12.5%
But 2.5 of that is gambling.
That's a 21% difference
These are the things the reserve bank looks at when doing their figures to see if the economy is hotting up or not.

It appears the Govt are the ones with the gambling problem .
They cant live with out it.
They prefer to hide these figures within general retail spending, so it does not stand out Funny that.

All the gamblers anonymous associations all say Poker machines are the No.1 culprit , which damages numerous families out there & the Govt is reluctant to do anything about it.
The Govt needs a due diligence check put upon them by say the ombudsman.
Knowingly allowing a family damaging activity to operate.

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Cheers.