2015-10-30
The Greens have called on the Andrews Government to rule out a second casino in Victoria, after revelations they a considering a unsolicited proposal by casino developer John Haddad.
“The Andrews Government must rule out a casino in Geelong, as the community can’t afford to be swindled out of any more of their hard earned money by more rigged pokies machines,” said Victorian Greens Spokesperson for Gambling Colleen Hartland.
“Nearly $112 million is already lost every year in the City of Geelong on pokies alone. We know poker machines are deceptive and designed to be addictive. A casino could bring hundreds more to a community already haemorrhaging money to this unethical industry.”
“One casino is more than enough for Victoria to cater for the tourist market. The reality is that the casino will be heavily used by locals and our community can’t afford any more losses on gambling.”
“There are already 1,366 poker machines in 26 venues in the City of Greater Geelong. We can’t afford to have any more,” said Ms Hartland.