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As many of you know, the Australian government recently passed even more anti-gambling legislation in mid 2017. Which is ironic as Australia has the highest incidence of gambling in the entire world and the government has no issue what so ever with pokies on the corner of every block, but I digress.
Between 1,300 to 2,700 people participated in ESIS since 2012 and for four consecutive years (2012 to 2015), ESIS reports have found that between 6 to 9% of our respondents used gambling as means of supplementing their income*(2016, 2017 not counted). This is an alarming trend among those who are facing poverty and are extremely vulnerable to even minor fluctuations in finances.
My question is, since when is the Salvation Army a source of authority when it comes to online gaming of any kind? Isn’t this traditionally an organization which collects and redistributes toys for needy children at Christmas? In what world do they suddenly have insight into gambling addiction?
I suspect it has to do with their religious roots. Perhaps a sense of being a “do-gooder” has taken control and they just want to stamp out the evil gambling bug! Or maybe, like Australian lawmakers, and US lawmakers for that matter, they were bought out by lobbying groups in an attempt to push a brick and mortar casino agenda. It’s all about the money, not the desires of the people unfortunately.
Here is a longer review of the Salvation Army’s position followed by, IMHO, reasonable objections: https://professionalrakeback.com/salvation-army-anti-online-poker-stance
