So here is the email i sent milton dick and cc'd nick xenophon. This was the reply i got from xenophons office. I didn't reply because the jist i got was typical polictal rhetoric sorry fir the size.
RE: Reply to your letter reguarding Online Gambling Bill
Dear Mark
Thank you for your copying Nick Xenophon into your email. I am responding on Nick’s behalf.
Thank you for your feedback regarding the Interactive Gambling Amendment Bill 2016, particularly in relation to online poker. I have passed your comments on to Nick and his legislative adviser for their reference and consideration.
*Nick did not support the amendment related to online poker as he felt there was too much ambiguity in how it would operate and what the betting limits would be. However, he did say that more debate is needed on this issue, and that there is an inconsistency in the approach of the government and opposition to sports betting, where you can bet thousands of dollars at a time per game or per sporting event, compared to online poker, where there could be some very strict limits as to the amount bet.
*You may be interested in reading Nick’s full speech on this here:
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_...e289/&sid=0017.
If you need support with gambling, I would encourage you to contact the Gambling Helpline on 1800 858 858.
*Thank you again for writing to Nick.
*Kind regards
Morgan Reid
Correspondence Officer
*To:*Dick, Milton (MP)
Cc:*Xenophon, Nick (Senator)
Subject:*Reply to your letter reguarding Online Gambling Bill
*Dear Member Dick,*
I received your letter today, thank you for taking the time to reply, BUT, I am going to seriously challenge you on this issue*
It seems the overall goal of this bill is to reduce online gambling which will help families who have issues with gambling.*
So if that is the case, why are you not focusing on the real gambling issues. (1) pokies. pokies are the major problem with gambling. Here are some stats for you
*Electronic gaming machines account for 62 per cent of gambling expenditure. They account for 75 per cent to 80 per cent of problem gamblers.
·* Annual gaming machine losses per player average about $3,700 in New South Wales, $3,100 in Victoria and $1,800 in Queensland.
·* Electronic gaming machines are the dominant source of gambling revenue. This is despite the fact that most Australians do not play them at all. (Specifically, 70 per cent to 75 per cent of adults surveyed indicated they do not use them in any given year).
·* There were 198,300 electronic gaming machines in Australia in 2009.
·* Annual revenue per electronic gaming machine was around $59,700 in 2008-09, with average revenue per venue around $2.1 million.
number 2 is Casinos. You give Drunk people 24/7 access to games that are always stacked against the players gives the casino an advantage in which they derive 78 per cent of their revenue from gambling.
So you'll have to explain to me how online poker is such a massive issue when pokie machines account FOR 62% of all gambling and of that 62%.....75% are problem gamblers.
I would love to see the break down of what you sent me, how much of that 2.4 billion online gambling is from online poker. I bet it's less than 10% and how much of the percentage are problem gamblers.*
How you can sit there and justify having online poker on that bill*when it's a game of skill rather than luck or "gambling". Yet what action are you going to take against pokie machines? probably none and why because we all know the taxes that government get from the pokie revenue. So if you really want to impress me, start taking action against pokies and not the guys who love playing poker and spend maybe $10 a tournament that can take up to 7 hours if you play well enough.*
You're taking action against the small guys to make it look like you're doing something to help fix problems. When the real problem is going untouched because you can't rock the money boat. we all know that costs votes. Well just remember, everyone gets a vote.*
I CC'd Senator Xenophon because I believe he was the main driver for this bill*
Thanks for listening*
Mark