Harmless bingo games funnelling vulnerable Victorians towards pokies, researchers say

Researchers are warning that an innocent Friday night game of bingo may not be so harmless after all.

Bingo games are reportedly being used to funnel Victorians towards pokies.

Gambling researchers have warned that seemingly harmless games of bingo are being used to funnel Victorians towards pokies, exposing them to greater risk of financial strain.

An in-depth study published by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has examined the impact of bingo on at-risk communities and called for reforms on how the system is regulated.

La Trobe University Associate Professor Dr Sarah MacLean, who led the research, said that most experiences with bingo groups were positive but there was evidence it was being used to direct people toward more harmful electronic gaming.

“When we were researching it we were really keen to acknowledge lot of people have a lot of fun playing bingo,” she said.

The Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation is calling for regulatory reforms for bingo games to protect bingo players in at-risk communities.

“Its social, a cheap night out and often quite a controlled spend.”

“But we were struck by how much (research) has gone into other kinds of gambling and not bingo.”

Women, Aboriginal people and those from a lower socio-economic background are particularly likely to play bingo. Assoc Professor MacLean said they looked at the impact of the game in three communities experiencing disadvantage and discovered dangers that were yet to be appreciated.

“We were finding there was harm attributable to bingo,” she said.

“People were being funnelled towards pokies in the breaks between bingo games.

“In these venues it is a loss leader that draws people in, they make the money when people play the pokies and it’s structured around those breaks.

“The legislation is quite unclear so its hard to follow and to regulate.

“Particularly at the RSLs, bingo sessions do present the opportunity to play pokies to these communities.”

Assoc Professor MacLean says bingo players in at-risk communities are being funnelled towards the pokies.

Dr MacLean said changes to the way people played bingo had also created risks.

Jackpots being rolled across multiple bingo centres funded larger prizes and increased costs per game.

Electronic tablets have also allowed people to easily play as many as 100 games at a time, further exposing people to financial strain.

But the tablets do allow some people with disabilities to play who otherwise could not.

“That technology makes it harder for people playing the paper books to compete,” Dr MacLean said.

“More books means you’re going to spend more money.

“Although for many it was harmless, we were seeing people talk about the harm of being directed to the pokies, spending the household budget and taking away time with family.”

The report called for tighter regulation of bingo, including bans on bingo provision in venues that have pokies, for greater limits on costs per game, jackpots and restricting the number of games that people can play simultaneously on electronic tablets.

Not having pokies in venues that host bingo would limit venues from funnelling people toward electronic gaming.

Clearer legislation should be used to ensure the good things about the game are protected, while the risk of harm is reduced.