Gambling can cause serious social and economic harm to people, families and communities. An evidence-driven public health approach is required to prevent and minimise gambling harm.
Principles
The NT Greens believe:
- Gambling harms people, families and communities and disproportionately affects the most marginalised in our communities.
- Years of self-regulation and voluntary codes of conduct by casinos, pubs and clubs have failed to protect the public against gambling harms.
- Casinos, pubs, clubs and other gambling interests should not have influence on gambling policy.
- Gambling legislation and policy is currently too focused on profit creation for casinos, pubs, clubs and government.
- Minimising gambling harms should always be the first priority in gambling policy.
- An evidence-based public health approach to gambling policy is required to prevent and minimise gambling harms.
- Free and accessible specialised support services should be available for anyone who experiences gambling harms.
- Poker machines are the greatest source of gambling harm and are too easily accessible throughout the NT.
- Poker machines are a significant source of money laundering and corruption.
- Online gambling is an increasingly significant source of harm and must be regulated to reduce gambling harms.
Aims
The NT Greens want:
- All gambling legislation and policy to reflect an evidence-based public health approach that aims to prevent and minimise gambling harm.
- An independent statutory authority, like the Liquor Commission, to regulate gambling in the NT, including the granting of poker machine licences.
- The tax rates on all forms of gambling in the NT to be significantly increased and revenue directed to independent research into prevention and minimisation of gambling harm.
- Governments to reduce their dependence on gambling revenue.
- Free and accessible specialised support services to be available for anyone who experiences gambling harm, which are directly funded by tax revenue from gambling.
- The advertisement and promotion of gambling, especially sports betting, to be prohibited.
- New gambling technology or services, or amendments to existing forms of gambling, to undergo a public health and gambling harm impact assessment and a public submission process.
- Casinos, pubs, clubs and other gambling interests to be banned from donating to political parties, and restricted in their lobbying of politicians and government.
- Poker machines to be phased out from pubs and clubs in the NT and the number of poker machines in casinos to be capped.
- All poker machines to be cashless, subject of high-integrity identity checks, and players to be required to make betting pre-commitments.
- Poker machines in the NT’s pubs, clubs and casinos to be independently monitored for corruption and money laundering.
- No new casinos to be built in the NT and existing casinos not be permitted to expand in size.