Independent Member for Clark, Andrew Wilkie, says the State Government should grow a backbone and slap down the gambling industry’s latest brazen attempt to dictate government policy.
“The Federal Group’s submission on the Future Gaming Markets draft legislation was clearly penned by a gambling giant accustomed to calling the shots on policy,” Mr Wilkie said. “It raises the question again, who is running Tasmania?
“Will the Government continue to kowtow to the poker machine industry at the great expense of the Tasmanian people? Or will it show who is boss and introduce harm-minimisation measures to poker machines including slower spins, $1-maximum bets, tougher fines for venues and the removal of addictive features.
“My guess is it will look after the industry because the Government sold its soul at the 2018 election for millions of dollars in secret donations. Federal’s coffers in particular have grown fat off the misery of poker machine addicts for decades. Its monopoly on this insidious industry should never have been allowed in the first place.”