Study reveals how states are hooked on gambling addicts

THE poker machine industry escapes tough regulation because state governments are addicted to the billions sucked in every year from people with gambling problems, a study has found. Almost half the $10 billion lost on poker machines nationally is spent by NSW gamblers, and some states take about half their total gambling revenue from people with an addiction or the risk of one, the study found. Its authors, Charles Livingstone of Monash University and Richard Woolley from the University of Western Sydney, are scathing about the states' regulation of the national poker machine industry.

SMH 3 Jan 2008