THE state government is reviewing strategies implemented to curb problem poker machine gambling.
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Anglicare, which based its submissions on requests from 52 people affected by problem gambling, wants pokies phased out.
In its submission to a review of the efficacy of harm minimisation, the social welfare body said it wanted pokie venues closed by 10pm, precommitment settings for machines and banning food and alcohol service to players at any time of the day.
For most people who use poker machines, they are a brief aside, a distraction no more harmful than buying the occasional scratchie or lotto ticket. Players know that the machines favour the house but don't mind trying their luck.
Of course, pokies have a darker side when that brief flirtation becomes an all-consuming habit: they are antisocial and addictive.
That addiction affects not only the player but family, friends and the wider community through, among other problems, lost productivity, parental neglect and sometimes crime.
A mandatory code of conduct governing poker machines has reduced the maximum bet limit per spin from $10 to $5, reduced the number of lines per spin from 50 to 30 and reduced the cash input limit of machines to $500.
But a government cannot regulate everything, and it should not make choices for people that should be left up to them as individuals.
Alcohol and smoking cost the community far more than poker machine losses. Accurate figures are elusive but a 2005-05 study showed that nationwide the cost of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs to the community was $56.1 billion, which included lost workplace productivity, road accidents, crime and the impact on the health system.
Those vices are governed by regulations and there are harm minimisation tactics surrounding them, but they are not banned outright.
People addicted to whatever vice, be it gambling, drinking, smoking or drugs, should be helped, but banning an entire industry is overkill and impacts people's free choice.