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"THERE is now one poker machine for every 108 people in Australia, putting the nation in the top 10 of international gambling hotspots alongside Monaco and some Caribbean islands. Australia also has the seventh-highest total number of gaming machines, with 200,057 in pubs and clubs, industry figures show."

"If you are gambling on your smartphone, if you are gambling on your computer, you are absolutely on your own."

NEARLY 130,000 Australians are playing illegal internet poker games, with US operators raking in $68 million in one year, according to new research. Online casino games, including poker, are illegal in Australia but in May the federal government released an interim review of interactive gaming laws that recommended legalising internet poker as part of overall liberalising of the industry. Other casino games would remain banned.

Nearly 130,000 Australians are playing illegal internet poker games, with United States operators raking in $68 million in one year, according to new research. Online casino games, including poker, are currently illegal in Australia. But in May the federal government released an interim review of interactive gaming laws that recommended legalising internet poker games, as part of overall liberalising of industry. Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/illegal-online-poker-is-costing-australians-68m-20120705-21kdg.html#ixzz1znVbSn89

FOUR out of every five problem gamblers in South Australia are addicted to pokies - despite the growth of online and sports betting. A profile of problem gamblers treated by the Flinders University School of Medicine shows less than 1 per cent said they had a problem gambling online but 83.9 per cent admitted to poker machine addiction. Flinders University Professor of Psychiatry Malcolm Battersby said experts did not know why a boom in sports betting and online gambling had not yet translated to an increase in problem gamblers.

CLUBS should be the sole operator of online casino games if they are legalised, with the community-benefit model of pokies revenue flowing to local clubs to be applied, the pokies lobby says. Online casino games, including poker, are at present illegal, but a recent interim review of interactive gambling laws recommends a liberalisation of online gambling, with online poker hosted by Australian companies to be trialled over five years. Other casino-style games would remain banned. Conservative estimates show at least 130,000 are playing online poker on overseas websites despite the current law.

"The Coalition has released its policy "to help problem gamblers" under that very title. If the betting markets are any guide, the Coalition is poised to win government on September 7, so the likelihood is that this will be Australian government policy for some time to come. What does it promise?"