I've largely ignored the whole Pokies machine thing going on in Australia. I don't like or care about pokies machines, and I'm not a fan of the extremely straight and whitebread pubs that have them. I sympathise with people who've lost lots of money on them, and I get the addiction angle, at least intellectually.
This cause a U-turn in my thinking, from disinterest to complete empathy. I think when this debate comes up in this country, this blogger's heartfelt words should be thought of.
To any overseas readers, some years ago Australian pubs were allowed to put in what we call Pokies machines, aka slot machines, aka one-armed bandits. The machines you see in movies set in Las Vegas, where people feed coins into a machine, pull a lever, and hope money comes pouring out. It's allowed a good number of pubs and clubs in financial turmoil keep afloat, yet it's also caused a spread of problem gambling. The government is considering banning them from pubs and clubs, while others oppose it for revenue reasons.
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