Gambling has become a hot topic for the federal government in recent months, due in part to an increasing awareness of the severity of gambling addictions in Australia but also because of major gambling reforms currently on the table.

The Productivity Commission found in its 2010 report that between 80,000 and 160,000 Australians suffer from severe gambling addictions, with 4 per cent of all adults playing gaming machines weekly or more often.

The proposed reforms to address problem gambling are an initiative of the federal independent MP from Tasmania, Andrew Wilkie.  Mr Wilkie has made it clear that his support for the minority government is conditional upon these gambling reforms. As such, Labor has made a commitment to addressing problem gambling by enforcing a maximum bet of $1 per play and limits of $250 that can be withdrawn from ATMs in clubs.

The government also wants to introduce pre-commitment technology in four years where the player opts how much money they want to lose before they play.

If these gambling reforms go ahead, they could take a heavy toll on communities across the country, specifically in New South Wales where clubs and hotels are major sponsors of community projects through the Community Development Support Expenditure scheme (CDSE). The scheme was introduced by the NSW government in 1998 to formally recognise the contributions of clubs to the community.

Under the CDSE, clubs in NSW that earn over $1 million per year from gaming machines are able to tax deduct money that they invest in the community, up to 1.5 per cent of total revenue streamed from pokie machines.

The clubs in question are the likes of your local RSL, Workers, Bowling and League Clubs, all of which play an important role in Australian society.

Many local programs, including charity programs, receive funding from these clubs, both for new projects and to sustain operating expenses.

In NSW alone, clubs have recorded CDSE expenditure of over $63 million spent during 2009, which has reduced the load of public funding programs.

The Revesby Workers Club in Sydney’s southwest is an example of a club that has invested heavily in the community, spending over $535,000 on community programs between 2008 and 2009. A donation of $75,000 was made to Bankstown City Aged Care, while $15,000 was given to Bankstown Dementia Carers Group. $20,000 was granted to the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, and a total of $90,000 was given to numerous primary and secondary schools across the district.

Wilkie’s gambling reforms threaten the revenue of clubs, as the new policy is designed so that people spend less in order to alleviate the social problems of gambling. This in turn threatens the ability of clubs such as Revesby Workers Club to fund community programs.

Jeremy Bath, a representative of the industry body Clubs NSW, said, ‘Reduced gaming revenue will no doubt also impact upon other areas of club revenue such as food and beverage and membership. If revenue falls by anything like the forecast 30 per cent, then clubs and Clubs NSW will have no choice but to reduce their support for community and sporting groups.’

If the policies go ahead, revenue gained from gambling will fall $2 billion, and a loss of half a billion in state tax receipts means there will be fewer jobs available for the 43,000 people employed by clubs in NSW. Less money will be spent on entertainment, charity and civil programs.

It will also be harder for clubs to support public infrastructure.

The state’s 1,500 clubs are responsible for 1,550 bowling greens, 366 golf courses, 163 playing fields and 66 public swimming pools.

Such measures will surely affect programs like Father Chris Riley’s Youth Off The Streets (YOTS) charity. Father Riley said the charity had ‘received many letters from individual clubs this year letting us know that their CDSE funding has dramatically reduced and that they have been inundated with requests for assistance’. This is a huge contrast to previous years, as Father Riley has traditionally seen clubs donate more than their minimal required contribution to charities such as YOTS.

Merrylands RSL is a major sponsor of YOTS, providing up to $75,000 annually to their Aftercare program that provides skills for youth to use in the real world, in the transition when leaving their mainstream services.

With the new reforms, Father Riley is sceptical whether the charity could continue a number of its services, saying ‘some services may have to close’ if their funding became unreliable.

‘If clubs can no longer afford this support, where would YOTS receive funding to continue these vital services?’ Father Riley said. ‘Will the government ensure current contributions made by clubs to charities will continue to be made and to increase along with need?’

Terry Dionysopoulos is a Bachelor of Communications student at the University of Western Sydney.  Check out his blog here.