Tasmanian Gamblers Anonymous receives almost 30 calls a week, the majority of people being suicidal.
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The Federal Government has called for a national inquiry into gambling, which has been described as reaching desperate proportions in Tasmania and as a time bomb waiting to explode.
Gamblers Anonymous figures, yet to be handed to the Tasmanian Gaming Commission, show that the vast majority of calls -- 1008 out of 1429 -- are related to people using poker machines in casinos.
The figures reportedly represent just the tip of the iceberg.
The callers are the few habitual gamblers who realise they have a problem.
Gamblers Anonymous trustee Wayne Pritchard has welcomed the national inquiry, saying the State Government has gone too far, with advertisements for gambling being shoved down Tasmanian throats.
In 1996-97 the Tasmanian Government received $61.4 million from gambling, representing almost 10 per cent of its taxation revenue.
``The State Government sees gambling revenue as its way out and it has taken the money and run. It has run as fast as it can and it has left the devastating social consequences behind,'' Mr Pritchard said.
He said the situation was desperate and that the majority of callers talked of suicide, although very few acted on it.
He said the inquiry needed to address what households were going without to support gambling habits and how many people were supporting their habits illegally.
Tasmanian Council of Social Service director Wanda Buza said that the State Government had a schizoid approach to gambling -- on one hand recognising it was a huge revenue-raiser and marketing it as passive recreation, and on the other being forced to acknowledge the dire social consequences.
``This is a huge social problem which breeds other social problems,'' Ms Buza said.
``The number of people who contact agencies about their problems is just the tip of the iceberg, and underneath the size of the problem is catastrophic.
``A lot of people turn to gambling in time of high unemployment and if they have financial problems.''
Federal Treasurer Peter Costello has written to each state premier seeking input into formulating terms of reference for the inquiry, brought about after constant calls for a broad-based investigation into why Australia has a multi-billion-dollar gambling habit.
He wants to investigate the extent and social cost of gambling, whether it is accounted for properly, its effect on the economy and whether its contribution is positive or negative.
