Aussie
Gambling Firms Push Via Sports Broadcasts, by Greg
Tingle - 2nd April 2011
G'day
punters, casino and gambling millionaires and billionaires,
sports nuts, politicians, legal eagles, one and all.
Australia remains red hot territory for gambling news.
We've got Aussie sports media commentators plugging
gambling, the pro club gambling campaign driving forward,
NRL sports betting probe developments with a link
to Tasmanian "devils" and Aussie pokies
manufacture Aristocrat making a comeback, with the
pokies boss hitting his own jackpot. All that and
more. Media Man http://www.CasinoNewsMedia.com
and Gambling911
with your gambling, sports betting and pokies news
mix from the land of kangaroos and koalas, with a
rabid Tasmanian devil on the loose...
Gambling
Companies Push Via TV Broadcasts And News Media...
Gambling
giants have the big push on via promoting sports
betting with a volatile and quite effective array
of sweet deals with clubs,
sporting codes, television stations and a big spread
of traditional and new media
outlets.
Sports
commentators are at the front line with frequent betting
odds updates, and mid-match updates are a field day,
if you will. It's all part of the strategy in place
with bookies and big name gambling operators.
"If
you like to have a punt on rugby league, and why wouldn't
ya, the Broncos are $1.50 on TAB Sportsbet,"
former Queensland Origin great Paul Vautin told NRL
viewers in Friday's opening-round match against the
Cowboys.
"Please
bet responsibly - we have to say that. If you race
down to the TAB at half-time, or ring TAB Sportsbet,
they are the prices at the moment."
Next
up was Network
Nine broadcaster Wally Lewis just after the first
half of the game with "TAB Sportsbet right now,
Broncos first to score in the second half, $1.75."
Plenty
of other sports are in on the action too, with Network
Nine sports getting the nod on the most gambling and
sports betting plugs. Cricket has broadcasting Richie
Benaud discussing the odds, with a bit of help from
his fellow commentators, as part of a cool deal with
James
Packer's 50% owned Betfair.
Nine
head of sport Steve Crawley said the broadcaster's
promotion was no different from newspapers providing
odds on sports and horse races.
"We're
electronic media, so when we do that it's in-game.
I realise some people have awful problems with gambling,
but the reality is that it's getting bigger and bigger."
It's
hot fodder in the NRL, which is sponsored by TAB Sportsbet,
has deals with "approved betting providers"
and permits clubs to have their own gambling sponsors.
The
footy still has a scandal on the go from alleged illegal
betting surrounding last year's infamous Canterbury
Bulldogs VS North Queensland Cowboys game.
NRL
chief exec David Gallop said corruption was one of
the biggest concerns for sporting administrators.
"The
risks in terms of penalties have to be severe,"
said Gallop, who is pushing for a specific match-fixing
offence and has warned of offenders facing life bans.
The
AFL is also sponsored by TAB Sportsbet and betting
firms support individual clubs, including Centrebet's
deal with 2010 runner-up St Kilda for a reported $1
million a year.
Overseas
operators such at PartyGaming
and PKR
have also leaked that they are interested in getting
into big media deals in Australia,
with an already strong internet presence.
Cricket
Australia allows Betfair
on grounds, and the National Basketball League has
a deal with Centrebet
that includes court promotions.
Aussie
Media and Racing King John Singleton Drives Forward
Pro Pokies Ad Push...
John
"Singo" Singleton, who happens to love
a punt himself, in the man and the brains behind the
$20 million advertising campaign by the Aussie clubs
against the Julia Gillard government's slot machine
reforms.
The
Gillard government is hell bent so it seems to implement
the "problem gambling" reforms to retain
whatever support might remain from Tasmanian "devil"
(satire) "independent" Andrew Wilkie.
Singo's
ad firm Banjo has developed a media and public relations
campaign to focus on recreational gamblers' fears
of having any government 'Big Brother' spying on their
betting habits. Yep, we kid you not. Australia's are
being spied on, and pokie palaces may turn into one
of the ultimate evil "eyes in the sky",
that may end up making Google Earth and Google Maps
look like child's play.
The
Banjo deal for a cool $20 mil, running for 2 years,
started with online video and newspaper adverts. It
will then pick up even more stream via radio, television,
billboards and even pub coasters. Australian newspapers
have already been giving the news story strong mileage
and its taking on a life of its own, with most gamblers
hating what they hear of government 'Big Brother'.
The
clubs is dead against a mandatory scheme for players
to register before playing poker machines, using so
called smartcards (not so smart say European trials)
and self-selected gambling limits (which can be manipulated).
A
leak said "Clubs Australia said that gambling
revenue will drop considerably as recreational gamblers
get pissed with the government and clubs, and will
take more to online gambling "like a duck to
water". This is right on the money and cards.
The 'Big Brother' approach is a false solution - actually,
its no solution. It's a smokescreen and spin. The
public are not that stupid, they are actually quite
smart, and Labor has underestimated Australians intelligence
once again. No wonder Labor lost the NSW state election".
Singo
and a consortium of investors, including the investment
banker Mark Carnegie, the retail king Gerry Harvey
and ex Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon, have purchased
high-profile Sydney pubs including Kinselas, the Bellevue
Hotel and Peakhurst Inn. Singleton also jointly owns
the Hotel Steyne in Manly.
He
had a strong association with the Labor government
under Bob Hawke during the '80s and early '90s, but
last year developed ads attacking Labor on health
during the election campaign, and earlier joined the
mega push against the mining tax with a campaign for
a Perth client, tipped to be Andrew "Twiggy"
Forrest.
"The
government's belated decision to perform a cost benefit
analysis on mandatory pre-commitment is back to front,''
a spokesman for Clubs
NSW said.
''This
sort of analysis should have been done before the
government announced it was introducing the technology.
''If
that had been done then almost certainly the Prime
Minister would never have been conned by Andrew Wilkie
into making a commitment that will devastate the club
industry.''
The
Families Minister, Jenny Macklin, said ''The government's
position is clear and has not changed.''
Police
have released CCTV images of yet another punter they
want to speak to about an alleged NRL betting scam.
The images were captured at a Browns Bay betting outlet
in Auckland, New
Zealand, between 4.50pm and 5.15pm on August 20
last year - the day before the game between the Bulldogs
and North Queensland Cowboys, police advised. The
woman was described as being aged in her 20s, with
a slim build, shoulder-length hair and of Caucasian
appearance. She was wearing a dark-coloured zippered
hooded jacket, blue jeans and carrying a red handbag
and was seen pushing a young boy in a pram, police
said. She returned to the betting facility about 5.35pm
on August 21. Police said in a statement that they
were not alleging she had done anything illegal, but
said investigators wanted to find out who she was
so they could speak to her. Player agent Sam Ayoub
and ex-player John Elias have been charged in direct
relation to the betting inquiry, while now ex-Bulldogs
prop Ryan Tandy has been charged with four counts
of giving false or misleading evidence to a NSW Crime
Commission hearing. Among the charges Tandy faces
is one of giving false evidence about having placed
a bet on a game between the Bulldogs and Gold Coast,
also last year. The charges against Ayoub and Elias
followed an unusual plunge on a betting option that
the first points of that game would come from a penalty
goal. Tandy was penalised two minutes into the game
for impeding Cowboys playmaker Grant Rovelli in front
of the posts. The Cowboys were awarded a penalty,
but took a tap kick instead of kicking for goal. Tandy,
29, pleaded not guilty to all charges during his appearance
in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on March 3.
Meanwhile, St George Illawarra can finally get down
to concentrating on their 2011 following Wayne Bennett's
decision to leave the club at the end of the season.
The coach's announcement has removed the largest cloud
hanging over the Dragons' premiership defence, with
the constant innuendo and rumour having played a part
in the side's sluggish start to the year. While the
issue won't be fully resolved until Bennett reveals
where he will coach next season, back-rower Ben Creagh
said news of the coach's impending departure would
at least focus the players' efforts on getting the
most out of the time he had left. While the appointment
of Bennett's right-hand man, Steve Price, and the
retention of much of the same squad for 2012 should
ensure a smooth transition to the new era, the Dragons'
best chance to win another premiership in the near
future would surely be while Bennett is the man.
Aristocrat
Boss Hits The Jackpot...
Jamie
Odell, chief exec of Aussie pokie manufacturer Aristocrat,
has hit the jackpot on an 'one armed bandit', if you
follow the lingo. Odell snatched 24% jump in total
pay to $2.5 million last year, despite Aristocrat
putting out another very average result. The chief
executive's base pay in the period increased 19% to
$1.25 million. Aristocrat's normalised profit after
tax dropped 53% in 2010. One of the resolutions at
the upcoming June AGM in Sydney to be voted on by
shareholders is a grant to Odell of 1.02 million performance
share rights as part of his long-term incentive package.
The rights, which would be granted over a 3-year period,
are performance based. If Aristocrat happens to outperform
the ASX 100 by more than 10% cent each year, Odell
will snatch 30% of the shares. He will get 70% of
the shares if he hits certain earnings targets. Will
he meet his targets and hit the Gold Mega Jackpot?
Stay tuned to find out. Aristocrat is also currently
working on a number of b2b deal with online casino
operators which are also tipped to return a healthy
jackpot to the company, as well as hours of fun for
online gamblers.
Crown
Casino Teams Up With NRL's Melbourne Storm...
Melbourne
are expecting a cyclone size backlash as the latest
National
Rugby League club to link with a gambling establishment
after confirming Crown Casino as their new major sponsor.
In a massive deal snatcher for a club which last year
was disgraced after being stripped of all points and
two premierships during the salary cap scandal, the
Storm unveiled Crown as their front jersey sponsor
on Friday. Melbourne chief executive Ron Gauci agreed
there would be criticism of the club's link with gambling.
However he defended the arrangement and said Crown
offered a home for Storm supporters, which the club
had not had since it joined the competition in 1998.
All Storm after-match and mid-season functions for
members will be held at Crown. The casino believes
the sponsorship will boost their exposure interstate.
"I think you'll have those that wish to comment
but I think we need to emphasise what it is that we
wanted out of the relationship and that is a home
for our supporter base," Gauci said. "If
you think about what Crown has to offer as an entertainment
complex ... this is a great place to consolidate those
activities." The Storm lost major sponsors Host
Plus and ME Bank in the wake of last season's scandal.
Gauci said the new sponsorship delivered a message
of confidence in the Storm ahead of the 2011 season.
"I think it does deliver us a substantial message
to the marketplace, and for the club it's very important
to have an organisation as big a Melbourne icon as
Crown is to support the club. It delivers a magnificent
message about the confidence the corporate world has
in Melbourne Storm and our future direction."
The Storm joined South
Sydney as the second NRL club to have a gambling
establishment as their major sponsor, while Penrith
have renamed their home ground Centrebet Stadium and
Manly will also have the Centrebet logo on the back
of their jumper. Yes, NRL ramped up links to gambling
are all the rage. A rumour has started that igaming
kings PartyGaming
want into Australia and would accept an NRL jersey,
shorts or even stadium deal. The firm is known for
its well known and respected PartyCasino,PartyPoker
and World
Poker Tour brands, which have a strong following
in Australia, other parts of the Asia Pacific, such
as New Zealand. Party is also looking to ramp up sports
betting services in the Asia Pacific region. Melbourne's
announcement also comes in the same week as Ryan Tandy,
who left the Storm midway through last season to join
Canterbury, was arrested and charged as a result of
an ongoing police investigation into "irregular
betting" on a match between the Canterbury Bulldogs
and North Queensland Cowboys last August. Dennis Watt,
rugby league general manager with News Limited, who
own the Storm, defended the arrangement between a
gambling establishment and a sport sold as a family
game. "I can speak for Crown as an integrated
entertainment, retail complex. It is very much reflective
of the heart and soul of Melbourne and it's a great
relationship for us to have and I don't see a conflict
for the relationship the Storm have sought here."
He echoed the views recently expressed by NRL chief
executive David Gallop that the association between
sport and gambling "is as old as sport itself".
"Gambling's a part of the Australian way of life,
part of our character and our history," he said.
"We advocate moderation, we know that problem
gambling affects less than half a per cent of the
population. "You've got two million problem drinkers,
four million smokers, over nine million Australians
suffering levels of obesity which are also big social
issues."
A
Media Man
spokesperson said "The Crown Casino - Melbourne
Storm sponsorship deal looks to be a match made in
heaven. Crown has world class facilities and entertainment
is the name of the game. Entertainment takes many
forms, be it football, burlesque, television, rock
bands or slot machines aka one armed bandits. Crown
Casino can do it all. Already this deal has generated
national and international headlines, and yes, we
are helping spread the word to our friends in the
U.S and Canada. Gambling911, CAP, GWPA and Poker News
Daily are just a few outlets that we expect to run
the story. It's balanced and positive coverage all
the way, instead of the agenda driven gaming hater
stuff you read from time to time. Chalk up more browny
points for Crown's James Packer and his world class
team at Crown, and good on the NRL and The Storm for
seeing the golden opportunity and moving it into high
gear. I never thought I would say this again after
last season's scandals, but Go The Storm!"
Australian
Betting Limited 'Bullet Proof' NOT! Says Maker Aristocrat...
A
card-based system forcing pokie players to set betting
limits isn't a "bullet proof" solution to
problem gambling, poker machine maker Aristocrat Leisure
Ltd says. Aristocrat, representing over 60% of the
Australian pokies market, is instead proposing a machine-based
system that lets gamblers set time and/or betting
limits. But the proposal was met with some opposition
when Aristocrat executives appeared before a joint
federal parliamentary committee hearing in Sydney
on Friday. The committee is investigating the idea
of a pre-commitment scheme using smart card or other
technology to force pokie players to set limits on
their gambling. It follows a controversial commitment
from Prime Minister Julia Gillard to Tasmanian "independent"
(so to speak - has seen to be bias and preduduce against
those liking a punt) MP Andrew Wilkie to introduce
such a scheme across the country in return for his
support of her Labor government. "As a company,
we acknowledge that there is a problem out there,"
Aristocrat general manager of corporate affairs Kristene
Reynolds told the hearing. "For us, coming here
today is to come to the table and be part of that
solution." The company's managing director in
Australia and New Zealand, Trevor Croker, said card-based
systems, which have been used in other countries,
can be manipulated by problem gamblers. "It is
not a bullet proof solution. People do swap cards
and have been able to use multiple cards," he
said. "I think finding the complete solution
is going to be a very difficult outcome. "It
should not be something we don't aspire to, but it
will be very difficult, from what we see in those
(other) markets." Aristocrat will soon trial
a new slot machine that features opt-in pre-commitments,
allowing users the option to set themselves spending
or time limits. These machines could be ready for
mass production from the end of 2012, and phased in
as part of the normal machine replacement cycle, Croker
said. But with the average cost of a pokie at $25,000,
Labor MP Stephen Jones questioned the Aristocrat executives
on the cost effectiveness of such a solution. "It
would be good for Aristocrat, I can see that. But
it's a very expensive solution to the problem, isn't
it?", he asked. Aristocrat general manager of
design and development Justin Brown said smaller venues
could be given longer to replace their machines, while
newer models may only require a software upgrade,
at a cost of about $3,000. Mr Wilkie, the committee's
chairman, also questioned the motives of Aristocrat's
proposal. "I can't help feeling an element of
commercial self interest in your advice to the committee
here," he said. Further questioning resulted
in the Aristocrat executives conceding their machine-based
proposal would not prevent problem gamblers from simply
switching machines or venues once they had reached
a pre-committed loss or time limit. The hearings continue
in Canberra and Hobart later this month. In Australia
the machines are often known as pokies or poker machines,
in the U.S - slots, and much of Europe - Fruit Machines
or Fruities!
Queensland's
Sunshine Coast A Big Winner For Lottery Sector; Punters
To Win Homes Via BoysTown Gambling...
It's
steal from the rich to give to the poor! Ok, not exactly,
but read on and you will get the drift soon enough.
The Sunshine Coast has long been regarded as a prize
location by local residents, but now a range of national
and state lottery organisations are taking notice.
BoysTown Lotteries recently unveiled a million-dollar
home in Buderim as its latest prize home offering.
Located at 22 Orme Rd, the home is part of a prize
package worth more than $1.5 million. It is arguably
one of Buderims most beautiful homes, according
to BoysTowns general manager fundraising Keith
Coventry. "Our previous lottery prize home was
in Nerang (Gold Coast) and the one before that was
in Rainbow Bay (Coolangatta). Now we find ourselves
in Buderim on the Sunshine Coast. When deciding on
a prize home, we look at the property itself and then
the desirability of the location and the features
of the area," Coventry said. "I think the
thing about Buderim is that you are close to the beach,
but you also have those great views over the ocean
and the coastline. I guess you get the best of both
worlds. "The Buderim home has been particularly
popular and the retail sales have been very strong."
Yet another contender in the Coasts prize pool
is a home in Mount Coolum, raising funds for the Mater
Foundation as part of the Mater Prize Home Lottery.
Also sporting a million-dollar price tag, the home
is located at 47 Boardwalk Blvd in Coolums Boardwalk
Estate. Twin Waters is the site of Surf Life Saving
Lotterys prize home, which is valued at more
than $750,000. The three-bedroom home at Lot 4 Ameen
Cct comes with $41,832 in furniture and electrical,
along with 12 months paid council rates. Coventry
said funds raised from the BoysTown lottery would
assist the Kids Helpline service, which was in particular
demand since the recent floods. "Kids Helpline
is certainly taking a lot more calls from kids who
are worried about the impacts of the floods, or who
have been affected by the floods. A lot of people
are seeking assistance with the mental health aspects
of this natural disaster, so I think that is certainly
going to be the focus of much of our fundraising over
the coming months." The money raised from Mater
lotteries help funds medical research teams and the
purchase of life-saving medical equipment, as well
as supporting patients and families. Surf Life Saving
lotteries assist Surf Life Saving clubs around the
country. Aussies, feeling lucky. Go on, give them
a go, and you know the money is going to a good place,
if you don't happen to win. Mind you, feel welcome
to check out the slots, poker, bingo and other casino
games showcased on the portal also. BoysTown Lottery
will set you back a bit, while at Media Man partners
like PartyGaming, many games can be played for free
or for money. The choice if yours. Hours of entertainment
for young and old - just kidding, check legalities
but most counties insist you are at least 18 years
old to gamble, and that includes from lottery to poker
to slots, ok crew!
Clubs
Australia VS Productivity Watchdog: Dog Fight; Bark
Worse Than Bite?...
Clubs
Australia will today accuse the nation's productivity
watchdog of making a mathematical error in its claim
that problem gamblers are responsible for 40% of poker
machine revenue. Media Man spokespersons and investigators
have been disputing the "problem gambling"
numbers for almost 2 years! The figure of 40% is being
used by anti-gambling politicians aka "gaming
haters" to try to justify new limits on gambling
the Gillard government has pledged to introduce to
maintain the support of independent MP Andrew Wilkie
in the hung parliament. Clubs Australia is fighting
a mandatory precommitment scheme that would force
pokies players to set a limit on how much they intend
to spend before they start gambling. It claims the
scheme will cost clubs and pubs $2.5 billion nationally
and cost thousands of jobs if it turns off casual
gamblers from having a punt, throwing a couple of
bucks down the throat of an "one armed bandit",
whilst often sinking a cold Aussie beer at the same
time (not that we endorse it). Beer can change ones
thinking, but you likely knew that already Jack! Politicians
backing the reform have seized on a claim in the Productivity
Commission report that problem gamblers contribute
40% of pokie revenue to justify the crackdown. Clubs
Australia president Anthony 'On The Ball' Ball will
tell a parliamentary inquiry in Sydney today the figure
is "highly contentious" and "inaccurate".
In his opening address to the inquiry he will say
that the Productivity Commission claims there are
95,000 problem gamblers who play the pokies and spend
on average $21,000 each year on the machines. When
multiplied together, this comes to a total of $1.995bn,
and this figure represents just 16.8% of the $11.9bn
total expenditure on poker machines. "These are
not our numbers. These are the figures from the commission,"
Ball will say. "Therefore the vast majority of
gambling revenue comes from recreational gamblers."
The Productivity Commission used a range of different
methods to calculate the amount spent by problem gamblers
and found both problem and recreational gamblers underestimated
how much they spent on gambling each year. The 40
per cent figure was not derived from multiplying the
number of problem gamblers by the amount they said
they spent each year but was derived from a range
of surveys that looked at what gamblers actually spent.
Clubs Australia will tell the parliamentary committee
the proposed mandatory precommitment scheme is a "massive
infringement of people's individual rights".
"There's a vast difference between making the
pre-commitment available to any player who wants to
use it, and forcing anybody who wants to play a gaming
machine to register, obtain a device and provide personal
details or fingerprints in order to be able to play,"
Mr Ball plans to tell the inquiry.
Australian
Gambling Enquiry: Traditional Gamblers Heading Online
For Slots, Poker, Roulette Et Al; Problem Gamblers
VS Problem Child Government Policy?...
Using
hi-tech to force pokies players to set betting limits
would drive gambling addicts online in the masses
and divert resources away from helping problem punters,
a Senate inquiry has heard. The inquiry, chaired by
Tasmanian federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie, is
investigating the concept of a pre-commitment scheme
using smart card or other technology to force all
pokies players to set limits on their gambling. Clubs
Australia, the peak body for registered clubs in the
nation, on Friday told the joint parliamentary committee
inquiring into the issue it had reservations about
the proposal in its current form. Clubs Australia
executive director Anthony Ball said more research
was needed on how effective it would be. "There
is very little good research out there about whether
this proposal or any others are going to work,"
he told the inquiry in Sydney. "There are a multitude
of gambling opportunities. The strategy must not be
to drive (problem gamblers) online ... The strategy
must be to find these people, get them the right treatment
and turn their lives around." He said state regulations
on gambling were sufficient and that a 'one-size-fits-all'
policy should not be applied across all states. Clubs
Australia president Peter Newell said the three main
issues regarding the scheme were cost, whether it
would reduce problem gambling and the consequences
of implementing it. He said the system failed to work
in Norway, and instead drove problem gamblers to the
internet. Five million Australians would play the
pokies in any given 12-month period and the system
would only drive away recreational players, who represented
the "vast majority" of gambling revenue,
he said. "As a recreational gambler myself, I
am disturbed that there are people who think I need
assistance in determining how I spend my money,"
he said. "Mandatory pre-commitment fails to provide
what problem gamblers need most and that is treatment,
and in doing so, diverts attention and resources away
from treatment. Problem gamblers will still gamble
in the mandatory pre-commitment system. They are addicted.
But recreational gamblers will walk away from pokie
machines." Newell said the system would be expensive
and difficult to implement across 197,000 machines
nationwide, taking years and billions of dollars to
do - forcing clubs to close and costing thousands
of jobs - with no indication as to how effective it
will be. It's man VS machine; The People VS The Government,
and The Government VS The Gaming Industry. News media
and website portals just keep lapping up the action
resulting in a readership jackpot bonanza.
Australian
Gambling On Pre-Commitment Pokies: Lovers VS Haters,
by Greg Tingle - 21st January 2011
Gambling
On Pub Pokies Gambling Pre Commitment?...
It's
one of Australia's hottest political stories at the
moment. At least, that's the vibe, and its getting
a good run on Aussie talk back radio and inches dedicated
to Australian newspaper print, not to mention the
strong coverage on leading news and entertainment
website portals such as Gambling911, Media
Man, Crikey and 'The Shout'.
Gaming
- pokie giant ALH (Australian Leisure and Hospitality
Group).... you've got to love the "leisure"
reference, has punished and kicked the head in (figure
of speech: there were no pub fight ok punters) of
the Aussie government plan requiring all gamblers
to nominate how much they are prepared to lose down
the throats of slots - fruit machines aka "one
armed bandits" before trying their luck, starting
it would have a "seriously" negative impact
on most who enjoy getting on the punt pokies style.
The
ALH, 75% cent owned by Woolworths, who we affectionately
call 'The Fast Cash People' (satire ok guys) advised
the gambling policy was "deeply politicised"
and club and pub owners were being unfairly targeted
while online gaming escaped regulation.
Clubs
and pubs are of course land based premises on Australian
soil, while online gaming and online gambling no very
few boundaries, with many of the world's largest media
companies, including some in Australia, covering the
sector in both a media, PR, affiliate, B2B and holistic
campaign capacity.
In
recent years Australia's Fairfax Media, publisher
of The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, and a number
of online news and entertainment website portals like
Brisbane Times, along with The Daily Telegraph online
and other Murdoch Australian online news entities
have developed dedicated sections on gambling, gaming,
sports betting et al, with punters and readers lapping
it up. Australia's AdNews website is has also taken
on ads, and James Packer's Betfair has promos on a
swag of websites, and on many mainstream TV broadcasts.
Yep, gambling is everywhere, and NRL team, the Penrith
Panthers is tipped to soon have their footy ground
renamed Centrebet Stadium, or something to that effect.
Website
portals like IGN, Virgin and Media
Man Int, are expanding out in a wide variety of
domain name extensions, building brands and reach,
some targeting specific geographic regions. Example:
Media Man
now has Media
Man Canada.com and well as Media
Man Asia and Media
Man Network, which Virgin has .ca and over 100
variations of its Virgin name, including Virgin Games,
Virgin Casino and Virgin Unite. For the record Virgin
is not currently accepting Australian online players
from what we can gather. PartyGaming, PartyCasino,PKR,Captain
Cooks,Winner,Centrebet
and James Packer's Betfair
appear to be some of the strongest online brands that
can accept Australians (and New Zealanders), and online
portals like Media Man list them for educational purposes,
putting the information out to the world via the global
medium - the internet. In many cases casino games
are reviewed listing currency and language options,
as well as play for free or play for money scenarios.
To
their credit, many of the media and entertainment
companies featuring some gaming and igaming coverage
do support a number of worthy causes, be it The Salvation
Army, Virgin Unite, The Red Cross and GenerationOne,
and some even making cash donations to struggling
charities on the quite, not seeking fame of thanks
for their good deeds.
Crown
Casino, home to the Aussie
Millions has an online presence, and has conducted
B2B with the likes of PartyGaming,
where the current champion is an Australian who learned
how to play online with Party's online poker brand.
Crown over the past few years have got into bed somewhat
with online poker firms, accepting "online poker
satellite qualifiers", where players play on
online websites, with the some of the best players
winning seats to the land based poker tournaments.
Back
to the politics of pub pokies, much of the fuss relates
to the Australian government broken promise to the
Australian clubs and pubs sector, while pandering
to the wish list of a certain well known Australian
senator. Many media commentators in Australia said
the senators demands (for securing his vote), accounted
to a version of blackmail! Strong allegations, and
these were carried in about a dozen different media
outlets down under in Australia. The policy itself
was a mammoth clash with the Productivity Commission's
view - policy on the run...a deal struck between the
independent... get read for the name... MP Andrew
Wilkie and the federal government. In exchange for
Wilkie's support, the government promised a "full
pre-commitment scheme" for poker machines by
2014, igniting a war of words and public backlash
from the powerful pubs and clubs sector, with Wilkie
being shouted out of a few meetings with regional
clubs, with Australian pensioners being some of the
most upset, distressed and basically, pissed off,
wanting the Aussie Labor Government thrown out of
office.
The
ALH Group outlined in its submission to a parliamentary
inquiry, the government's policy would probably be
ineffective and would basically force substantially
higher costs on pub owners, clients, associates and
suppliers.
A
lengthy Productivity Commission inquiry recommended
"full pre-commitment" by 2016, and the ALH
and others pushed for more research.
The
ALH is the proud operation of in excess of 12,000
pokies aka "one armed bandits" and 286 pubs.
They are king! Pushing for a voluntary pre-commitment,
ALH advised problem gamblers would still find a way
to bet online where the internet has few boundaries,
where less regulations applied. Online brands such
as PartyGaming, PartyCasino, Captain Cooks, Centrebet
and Betfair are well known, trusted, ethical and popular
with Australians and New Zealanders, with punters
not so keen to try out other lesser known brands.
Senator
Nick Xenophon, an anti-poker machine "hater"
(not lover), pointed the finger at Woolworths 'The
Fast Cash People' (satire) of trying to defend the
indefensible.
The
submission ignored "overwhelming evidence"
that a pre-commitment scheme would help reduce problem
gambling, Senator Xenophon said, likening its stance
to big tobacco firms denying the dangers of smoking.
The question and claim is being investigated with
some journalists not so sure it was "overwhelming
evidence" with some saying it was clever spin,
backed by "junk science" coming out of some
Australian universities known for their dislike of
the gaming and gambling sector.
'Mr
X' (satire) added "The irony is there are people
who cannot afford to buy food from a Woolworths supermarket
because they are blowing their money on a Woolworths
poker machine".
Senator
Xenophon and other anti-pokies groups convinced Woolworths
last year to keep children away from its poker machines.
Woolworths made $176.7 million in pre-tax profits
from its hotels division last financial year. The
pub baron Bruce Mathieson owns the remaining 25 per
cent of ALH.
The
parliamentary inquiry will hold public hearings in
capital cities next month.
Many
Aussie based legal eagles such as Jamie Nettleton
from Addisons are expecting strong business this year,
as the legal complexities of online vs offline, website
portals vs casinos, affiliate programs, PR VS news
and campaigns et al, continue to get looked at. Our
friend Nettleton has already gone on record that many
Australian laws are outdated and do not basically
cover or apply to the global medium that is the world
wide web. Nettleton is recommending more regulations,
which in turn will help better protect consumers,
and well as help with taxation laws and other business
functions, resulting in a win - win - win.
Australian
Land Based Casinos VS Land Based Pokie Palaces: Australian
Casinos List...
Punters,
we know your just begging to get your current Australian
land based casino hotspots back on file, many of which
are massive tourist attractions, so here it is...
New
South Wales
Star City Casino (Sydney)
Victoria
Crown Casino (Melbourne)
Queensland
Conrad Treasury Casino (Brisbane)
Jupiters Hotel & Casino (Gold Coast)
Jupiters Townsville Casino (Townsville)
The Reef Hotel Casino (Cairns)
South
Australia
Skycity Adelaide (Adelaide)
Western
Australia
Burswood Entertainment Complex aka Burswood Casino
(Perth)
Tasmania
Wrest Point Hotel Casino (Hobart)
Country Club Casino (Launceston)
Australian
Capital Territory
Casino Canberra (Canberra)
Northern
Territory
Lasseters Hotel Casino (Alice Springs)
Skycity Darwin (formerly MGM Grand Casino) (Darwin)
Tobacco Industry VS Government Wars: Australian Sinners
Key Target...
The
tobacco industry has launched a fresh and "backdoor"
type attack on legislation to make plain packaging
of cigarettes compulsory, using a regional FTO (free
trade agreement) to which Australia is expected to
sign up to.
Tobacco
giant Philip Morris has used Australia's plain-packaging
laws, set to come into effect next year, to debate
the need for "investor state" provisions
in the upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
This would basically facilitate companies to sue member
governments if they pass legislation curtailing business
activities!
Thomas
Faunce, an Australian Research Council future fellow
at the Australian National University, called on the
federal government to resist the inclusion of investor
state provisions in the agreement. He said the provisions
duplicated ground that had already been covered in
the 2005 Australia-US free trade pact.
"Australia
can rebut such attempts on the basis that they reopen
the (free trade agreement) negotiations where an investor-state
clause was expressly excluded," Associate Professor
Faunce wrote in a critique published today in the
Medical Journal of Australia.
Negotiations
on the trade agreement - between the US, Australia,
New Zealand and six South American and south-east
Asian countries - intensified last year and are expected
to be completed in September.
In
a submission on the proposed trade agreement to the
US trade representative, Philip Morris cited Australia's
plain-packaging laws among "initiatives of concern".
The
company said it supported laws to reduce any harm
caused by tobacco, but opposed "extreme and disproportionate
regulation which has the effect of violating
international law and expropriating intellectual property
rights".
Simon
Chapman, a professor of public health at the University
of Sydney, said the company's stance was consistent
with the tobacco industry's history of attempting
to use trade agreements to defeat individual countries'
health laws.
"It's
yet another sign of the degree to which the industry
will go to to defeat and delay any measure that will
actually work (to cut smoking rates)" he said.
The
World Trade Organisation's Uruguay Round had established
the right of countries "to put health considerations
above international trade considerations".
Patricia
Ranald, of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment
Network, which advises on human rights, and the environment,
said Australia would receive little export benefit
from the treaty because the free trade agreement was
already in place.
"What
we want to say to our government is that we should
negotiate about trade issues but not about social
policies," Dr Ranald said.
Craig
Emerson, the Minister for Trade, would not commit
on excluding investor-state provisions from the trade
pact, saying he was not prepared to make policy on
the run.
But
he said Philip Morris would be "whistling in
the wind" if it tried to undermine national anti-tobacco
laws.
The
tobacco industry ie: smoking, has long been linked
to other industries such as gambling (where punters
often chase land based pokies where smoking is allowed),
the sex and fetish industry, fashion (models smoke
instead of eat correctly, not to put on weight) and
motorsport (especially F1), but exposure of tobacco
products on cars has been massively reduced - more
than halved, over the past 5 years, with energy drinks
like Red Bull picking up some of the slack.
Media
Man,Casino
News Media and Gambling911
are website portals. Not casinos as such, however
are recognised as world leading websites that cover
the sector and act as central points to games, news,
reviews and more.
Readers...
er, punters, how did you like our report? Tell us
in the forum.
If
you have a bet, please bet with your head, not over
it, and for God's sake, have fun.
*Greg
Tingle is a special contributor for Gambling911
*Media
Man is primarily a media, publicity and internet
portal development company. Gaming is just one of
a dozen sectors covered