Thursday, July 30, 2009



Off limits in Australia: sights and sounds of gambling

We read:
"Clubs, casinos and gambling venues could be required to undertake significant renovations to make sure children are not able to see, or even hear, gambling. Guidelines drawn up by state and federal ministers say children must not only be kept out of gaming venues but also must not be "exposed to gambling areas within venues"...

The independent senator Nick Xenophon said state governments must act immediately to protect children from the sights and sounds of gambling. "The states and the Federal Government finally agree that children are harmed by exposure of adult behaviours like gambling," Senator Xenophon said. Shielding children should include measures such as soundproofing play areas, restaurants and other non-gaming areas inside clubs or casinos...

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Families and Community Services, Jenny Macklin, said all states and territories had agreed to the principles before taking formal action next year. "The principles are about implementing a nationally consistent approach to ensure that minors are not directly exposed to gambling," she said. "A part of this is recognising the need to ensure that the physical layout of gambling venues does not expose them to gambling."

Source

10 comments:

Stan B said...

Child: "Mummy, what are all those people doing behind that wall?"

Mom: "They're gambling, son."

Child:"Officer, why are you arresting my mummy?"

Officer:"She exposed you to the fact that gambling is going on behind those walls, little boy, and the government says you have to be protected from that fact, so I'm arresting her for your own good!"

Anonymous said...

So when the child or adolescent does discover gambling exists, he/she will link it to adult behavior which he/she will naturally want to emulate, or will consider it "naughty" which will be very attractive too as "forbidden fruit" and "daring".

Anonymous said...

If they truly cared about children, they would make sure they're not able to see or hear politicians. The Aussi's had better take care, else they'll become another "PC-ized", socialist, Britain.

Bobby said...

Great, more laws "for the children." I guess Nick Xenophon wants to live in some sort of Disneyland 24/7. Children aren't allowed to gamble, so how exactly are they harmed by gambling? As for the "sounds of gambling," you're more likely to hurt your ears at a NASCAR race than at any casino, yet children aren't banned from NASCAR.

Brian from Viriginia said...

While I agree that gambling is something that should be strictly reserved for adults, how in the world does exposure of children to gambling hurt them? I have been to Las Vegas many times and have seen children walking through a casino with their parents. (The way most casinos are set up, you have to walk through the gaming area to get to the pool, or the parking garage, or the buffet, from your room. In Nevada it is legal for a child to walk through a casino, but they can't loiter.) And I have yet to see a child burst into flames or become a beady-eyed killer just by being exposed to gambling.

Anonymous said...

Brian, it's called "political correctness", and it's becoming a dangerous pandemic. The only known cure is logic, common sense, and ones ability to think for themselves, which means it's going to be with us for a VERY long time.

Anonymous said...

Won't somebody please think of the children.
I see nothing wrong with this. We protect children from all sorts of 'adult' concepts that we think might be harmful to them.
We do not expose our children to pornography (or at least try to protect them from it as best we can nowadays), we no longer allow cigarette advertising and even alcohol advertising is being restricted.
This is simply an extension of that.
Do you all want to install full-length plate-glass windows on safe injecting rooms and brothels too???

Stan B said...

Anonymous 5:43 PM - Won't somebody please think of the children.

I do think of the children - when they're MY children! I didn't let my children watch TV all day, or spend hours on hours on the internet, or frequent bars, night-clubs, casinos, or brothels. These things were MY responsibility, NOT the government's!

If the Government is going to protect them from gambling, are they going to outlaw Dad's Friday Night Poker Game - in the name of the Children? Why NOT?

Are they going to outlaw the broadcast of any sports event that is gambled on? Why NOT?

Horse racing is obviously right out - no more Kentucky Derby, eh?

Next they'll be regulating what you feed your Children, and how you dress your Children - hell, they already regulate what THEY TEACH your Children!

In the name of "The Children" let's just take ALL kids away from their parents, because Parents always screw up their kids in some way or other!

Then we'll live in the Nanny State Utopia that exists only for "The Children...."

Anonymous said...

Yes, "because of the effect on children" is always the excuse made by one set of adults to restrict the activities of other adults!

Bobby said...

"We do not expose our children to pornography (or at least try to protect them from it as best we can nowadays),"

---Gambling is not pornography, seeing a slot machine is not the same as playing it.


"we no longer allow cigarette advertising and even alcohol advertising is being restricted."

---Yes, we make it appealing by forbidding it, so by the time the kids turn 21 they can't wait to drink to excess. When my sister was 10 she asked my mother what smoking was like, so she gave her a cigarette and my sister hated the experience and never smoked. My mother did the same with me, but with gin. Why don't we just let parents be parents and keep the government out of it?