Government Sponsored Addiction

Gambling
GAMBLING is a cash cow for the Brumby government, stuffing its coffers with more than $1.6 billion a year. Gambling - specifically poker machines - are the addiction the Labor Party has been unwilling to quit since it took office in 1999. Instead it has liberalised gambling advertising laws, overseen a massive expansion of sports betting and locked Victorians into another decade of poker machine losses. The new 10-year poker machine agreement after 2012 has meant it is unlikely the Coalition will repeat previous promises to reduce the number of machines. Instead, the battle of policy ideas is likely to focus on effective problem gambling measures. Which party will introduce a genuine - not just pop-up windows on screens that last 15 seconds - pre-commitment system for poker machines?

Another hot gambling issue will be the prospect of a second casino for Victoria. How Victoria has changed in a decade - Labor, in opposition the strident critic of ''casino culture'', now entertains the idea of a second casino. The opposition has ruled it out, offering voters a clear policy choice. A related issue could be whether a new government is prepared to allow Crown Casino to grow even bigger - last May the Brumby Government granted Crown its biggest expansion in a decade.

The new government will also have to decide who will get Victoria's lucrative wagering licence and consider tightening rules around sports betting to better protect the integrity of sport in Victoria. Another challenge will be deciding what to do about Victoria's beleaguered lottery operator Intralot, which is making a fraction of its forecast returns and delivering less than expected revenue to the government.

And then there are the Greens, staunch critics of poker machines. If the Greens hold the balance of power in either house of Victoria's Parliament after November 27, will a deal to slash the number of poker machines in Victoria be considered?

JASON DOWLING