AFL, NRL Come Out Against Poker Machine Reform

New opposition to the plan to reform Australia’s poker machines has come from two powerful sports organizations, further intensifying the debate over pokie reform.

According to a report in The Australian, both the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League have come out against the proposal to add pre-commitment technology to poker machines in clubs throughout the country. While AFL officials have said that they don’t plan to have a coordinated campaign against the proposed legislation, they have made it clear that they are against the bill.

The poker machine reform law bill is a critical test for the Gillard government. While such an issue would likely normally be only of secondary importance nationally, the fact that furthering gambling reforms is essential to the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie makes pushing the issue critical to holding together the current governmental coalition.

While government officials are certain that Julia Gillard will keep her deal with Wilkie, it is far less certain that any bill regulating poker machines would be passed in Parliament.

AFL clubs were opposed to the legislation due to concerns that it would cut into secondary revenue streams for many teams – which could threaten the viability of some clubs. In fact, Eddie McGuire, president of the AFL’s Collingwood club, went as far as describing the gambling reforms as a “footy tax.”

According to Peter Doust, the chief executive of NRL club St. George Illawarra, the new technology would cost them a staggering $6 million to implement – perhaps enough to bankrupt the club.

"This is about our club fighting to survive,” he said. “We will close if this system is successful."

Whether or not such dire outcomes would actually result from passage of poker machine reform, it is certain that there would be some impact on many sports clubs. According to Anthony Ball of Clubs Australia, poker machines provide income for NRL and AFL clubs, as well as for junior spots throughout the country.

Wilkie disputed these claims, saying that AFL and NRL clubs were putting profits ahead of public welfare. In addition, he pointed to studies that suggest $1 maximum bet poker machines – which would be exempt from the new laws – would satisfy the needs of 88% of gamblers, thus minimizing the impact on the sports clubs.