Gambling has long been a battle between the churches and the wish to make " easy money " that is the base for each wager. When a new colony was established in Sydney, horse racing quickly followed as a sport - and a legal gambling culture was established. At that time, you could only place a bet by going to the races and fronting a bookmaker.
It didn't take long for gambling to diversify. Soon, every pub in the state had a " Starting Price " bookmaker operating on the premises and eventually the government decided to get a piece of the action and licensed a new TAB to skim off some of the profits by way of tax.
New South Wales was the first state to introduce poker machines and these delivered a bonanza for football clubs - and state treasury. Such a source of revenue was just too tempting for the other states, and eventually the machines were licensed in pubs as well as clubs.
Financing the Sydney Opera house was partly funded by a state lottery, and we now have some sort of " Lotto " game played on most nights with regular jackpots that run into millions. " Scratchie " gambling cards are on sale at newsagents - and it seems almost impossible to escape the plethora of gambling opportunites offering.
The one limiting factor of a past era was the need to put cash on the barrel to gamble. In the days when the banks opened at ten in the morning and closed at three in the afternoon, gambling losses were limited to the amount of money that a gambler had in his or her wallet. Since then, the ATM has opened up new opportunities for the weak willed to lose money, and those ATM's have invaded the clubs and pubs right alongside gambling outlets.
It was probably inevitable that the advent of the Internet would include gambling opportunities and we now seem on the cusp of a new gambling era. The vast media world of sport and television is combining with bookmakers and gambling provision syndicates to offer gambling opportunities that have not existed in the past.
For the first time, people are being invited to gamle by direct advertising right into their living rooms - and the Internet gives them instant access to their bank accounts on a 24/7 basis. The " temptation factor " is being devised by advertising gurus who are masters of that game and it seems inevitable that some people will be induced to gamble away their future. The means to win or lose unlimited amounts of money can be accessed by the " Smart Phone " that they hold in their hand !
Unfortunatly, this is a case of opportunity clashing with human nature. Many people have a gene that makes gambling irresistable. Some are just weak willed and others succumb to temptation when affected by alcohol. What is certain is that this gambling extension will bring harm to some families - and will most likely affect the minds of children growing up in a gambling household.
At the moment - this direct approach is in it's infancy. We would do well to think long and hard about what limits should apply to it's development !
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