00:00Remembrance Day, a time for solemn reflection, but in Darwin last year it was also a time
00:09for celebration, with the grand opening of the Services Club, rung in by the sound of
00:1440 Poker missions.
00:17We understand there is, you know, socially it's probably not acceptable to a degree anymore,
00:23but it is a very good level of income for the club itself.
00:27Management here says 80% of Poker's profits go to veteran services via the RSL, but other
00:33clubs are not so generous with their gaming revenue.
00:36Not-for-profit clubs with poker machines are required to publicly report their community
00:40contributions, and last financial year the NT's 20 existing clubs claimed they contributed
00:46almost $4 million to worthy causes.
00:49But documents obtained by the ABC reveal, some of those claims are dubious at best.
00:56Silks Darwin claimed $22,000 in donations from patrons through meat trays and other raffles,
01:02and the Nightcliff Sports Club claimed $10,000 in donations to CareFlight and the RSPCA via
01:09collection tins, despite guidelines ruling them ineligible.
01:13Nightcliff Sports Club also claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in community contributions
01:18for money spent upgrading club infrastructure, while other venues claimed for free ice and
01:24members' birthday parties, also in apparent breach of the guidelines.
01:28Reaching out and crying. Desperate.
01:31Psychologist Nicola Coulter works with problem gamblers.
01:35One in 20 Territorians experience gambling harm, you know, so that's probably your brother,
01:40your cousin, it's your workmate. It doesn't end there.
01:44About six other people, and if you're a First Nations person, if you're an Aboriginal person,
01:50that number extends to probably about 15 other people who are experiencing the ripple effect
01:55of the harm. Statistician Matt Stephens says like pubs and casinos, clubs with pokies should
02:01also be forced to pay into the Government's community benefit fund, set up to redistribute
02:07gambling losses via grants.
02:09It's not really costing them any money, so it's not, I wouldn't call that a community
02:14contribution, but it gets counted as an in-kind community contribution when they're filling
02:19out their audit.
02:20Dr Stephens was the lead author on a gambling study released quietly by the NT Government
02:25late last year. It found the Territory has double the national average of problem gamblers
02:31with 4,324 people pumping almost $122 million, or $28,000 each, into the pokies each year.
02:42The latest budget papers also show they poured more than $50 million into NT Government coffers
02:49via a direct tax on poker machines.
02:51If you actually want to reduce harm, they've got to be prepared to reduce the revenue as well.
02:57In a statement, the Nightcliff Sports Club says it's under new management and is
03:01working with the Department to correct previous reporting errors and ensure future compliance.
03:07The Government says forcing clubs to contribute to the Community Benefit Fund would leave some
03:12financial services.
03:13Financially unviable.
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