Page 2928 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 August 1991
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A 1986 report by the then Senior Sergeant Booth in the Licensing and Gaming Squad in Victoria found that, "The money they earn is like petty cash for the criminals. The money is helping support drugs, prostitution and other rackets". His figure work, based on a sequence of 15 gaming machines they had under surveillance, showed that over a 12-month period, if left undisturbed, this petty cash would amount to some $10m. In 1990, under the news banner, "Police fail to slow illegal gambling", the then head of the Victorian squad, Inspector Maher, said, "The failure to act on Sergeant Booth's recommendations has led to the machines spreading throughout Australia".
In the same argument, Frank Kirby of the Western Australian squad said, "We have heard about the new machines in the east, but we have not yet seen them here. That does not mean that they will not come here". Just three months later, in March 1990, it was reported that a major organised scheme to import components for illegal gambling machines had been broken and that Western Australia was being used as a springboard to distribute these illegal machines in parallel with the legal machines.
The 15 machines that were under surveillance in a sports club in Victoria had a number of illegalities about them. Firstly, the odds were rigged. It has been recorded that a pay-out as low as 48 per cent has been set up on such machines. There is also a situation where a sliding scale will be used. The machine can be programmed to start off at a certain pay-out figure and that can reduce. In addition, there are machines that are capable of conversion to illegal games. These games would be card games other than poker, for example, 21. They would involve high stakes. The games can be changed by switching the machines on certain premises.
Mr Duby: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. This has gone far enough. I think this is an outrageous attack on the licensed club industry in the ACT. I would ask the member to be relevant to the motion that is under debate and to the Act. This has nothing whatsoever to do with amendments to the Gaming Machine Act of the ACT. This clearly is out of order.
MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Duby. I am having trouble ascertaining the relevance of your statement, Mr Stevenson.
MR STEVENSON: The relevance is that it has been shown in a number of States in Australia that such machines are not only open to tampering by organised crime but have been - - -
Mr Duby: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: This clearly is ludicrous. There are no States in Australia that have these machines, except New South Wales and the ACT.
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