Those charts are pretty disturbing thats for sure. As you said the pokie machine stats are very scary. So many people are addicted to those things and I just cannot for the life of me understand how or why that is the case. You play one knowing your going to eventually lose no matter what and they are just dull to me but I guess each to their own.

Also I wonder how much of peoples pensions are put into pokie machines. You see some of those bowling clubs in/around the gold coast and they a chockers with pokie machines and retiree's playing them.

Not saying i'm a saint for doing a fair bit of recreational punting on sports/racing but it's because I have an interest in those things and they a human/animal driven. Not a machine that determines your eventual loss.

Like you said though stugots pretty obvious why these bookies operating in australia do what they do. And the problem is its hard to see a government going into bat for supporting gamblers as it would put too many noses out of place due to the perception that they would be encouraging further problem gambling.