Ethical Blindness, EGMs and Public Policy: A Tentative Essay Comparing the EGM and Tobacco Industries

Abstract

Arguing a case by way of analogy can be perilous. Each problem has its own particulars that analogy and examples from other domains often obscure. Therefore it is with some trepidation that this paper discusses similarities and differences between the poker-machine (EGM) and the tobacco industries. The author has no special knowledge of the tobacco industry beyond that of the reasonably informed citizen. Rather it is out of concern about ethics and product safety for EGMs that the paper addresses the following question: what, if any, are the substantive ethical differences between the EGM industry and the tobacco industry?

Lies, Damned Lies and ‘Problem Gambling’ Prevalence Rates: The Example of Victoria, Australia

“…By almost any reckoning this is too much. It will most likely cause some level of gambling-related harm, however defined (Doughney 2007;2006).…”

“…4-5;our emphasis) The ABS submission warned that 'HES data on gambling is significantly under-reported and hence any analysis based on, for example income distribution, may be questionable' (1998a, p. 10). We know that heavy losers contribute more than half of total losses in Victoria, with one estimate being that six per cent of Victorians lose 60 per cent of the total: a staggering $1.5 billion per annum, on current estimates (Doughney 2007;2006). Yet precisely these heavy users will be least likely to be honest about the true extent of their gambling.…”

Young Adults’ Stories of Gambling in a Research Situation: A Narrative Inquiry

“…They also express concern about the addictive potential of non-strategic games and particular technologies (Doughney 2007;Livingstone and Woolley 2008) and the damage done by problem gambling; i.e., gambling that has moved beyond the bounds of recreation and has the potential to affect not only the gambler, but members of the gambler's family and/or the community at large (Australian Productivity Commission 1999).…”

The Marketing of Legal but Potentially Harmful Products and Corporate Social Responsibility: The Gaming Industry View

“…Australia for example has traditionally been a nation where 'a drink, a smoke and a bet' is part of the national psyche. Although over-consumption of any of these products invariably results in harmful effects, Doughney (2007a) argues that the gaming industry is less ethical than the tobacco industry because the victims of the former can be more readily identified. The purpose of this paper is to extend the predominant focus on the tobacco and alcohol industries to consider another potentially harmful product, namely electronic gaming machines (EGMs), from within the gaming industry itself.…”

“…Other EGMs are in NSW registered clubs and 'pubs'. Much negative perception exists regarding not only access issues and the high prevalence of EGMs in Australia, but also controversies regarding their placement in low socio-economic areas where customers can least afford it (Doughney 2007b;McMillen et al 2004;Marshall and Baker 2002;Mellor 2005). Others (Livingstone and Woolley 2007) criticise the lack of effective legislation in protecting problem and at risk gamblers and accuse the government and the gaming industry of being collaborators in the obfuscating, rhetorical discourse of 'business as usual'.…”