Australia has a gambling problem like no other country – and with a government obsessed with pokies and our sporting clubs equally pleased with the revenue that pokies bring – it seems things are going to get a lot worse around here before they start to get better. The AFL Clubs around the country are no stranger to this ongoing controversy either, with Carlton and Collingwood (among many) constantly being called out for encouraging the growth of this pokie addiction and aiding problem gambling.

Some of the more recent articles that have exposed the AFL for being the corrupt money hungry pokie lovers that they are can be found below:

• Victoria Clubs Spend Big on Pokies but Ignore the People and The Community
• Clubs in NSW and Victoria unite to FUCK UP THE COUNTRY EVEN MORE

And Now St Kilda has joined the ranks of arsehats in the AFL who are only interested in profits – even though it comes at the expense of the people.

St Kilda FC Accused of Grooming New Generation of Gamblers

ST KILDA is accused of grooming a new generation of gamblers by including an 83-machine pokies parlour in the club's Moorabbin redevelopment.

The Saints submitted plans to council for the $29 million project last week. The club will relocate back to the ground before the 2018 season and will share the facility with Sandringham Dragons under-18 team and the South Metro Junior Football League.

Poker machines are the first thing the kids will see when they go to footy training each week, said Rev Tim Costello (pictured) of the Alliance of Gambling Reform. This will help the pokies industry groom a whole new generation of kids.

The State Government and Kingston City Council tried to distance themselves from the machines €” which have been linked to social and family harm.

The state is pumping $12 million into Moorabbin but said its funding would not go towards the gaming operation. It emerged on Tuesday the government insisted on a clear separation between community space and the pokies den.

And Now The Government Joins the Bullshit Train

The Victorian Government does not invest in pokies, said acting sports minister Philip Dalidakis.

Artists’ impressions of the proposed Moorabbin development for St Kilda Football Club.

The support we are providing St Kilda and the AFL is for a community facility for locals and junior football to enjoy and for the Saints to return to their spiritual home.
Kingston City Council, which is investing $5m, also claimed no council funding will be spent on the gaming area.

Instead $4m of council funds are dedicated to the shared community football facilities, indoor training court which will be available for community basketball/netball use after-hours, plus $1m towards upgrades in the surrounding parkland area, said Kingston chief executive John Nevins.

The AFL is contributing $6m and St Kilda is attempting to raise $5m from wealthy supporters.

The AFL did not wish to comment when questioned about it assisting St Kilda fund and build a new venue for its machines. Costello said government and the council were involved in a con-job if they believed they were not paying for the pokies room.

How can they pretend they're not paying for the gambling room when they're paying for the roof over the top of it and the walls all around it? he said. They're all involved in a con job.

The machines are currently housed in the Saints' social club at Moorabbin, which was described by St Kilda president Peter Summers last week as a tired, rundown community eyesore.

St Kilda said in a statement the works would significantly reduce the focus on gaming at Moorabbin.

This redevelopment gives us the opportunity to relocate the gaming area to a more appropriate location, in line with the club's partnership with the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, the club said.

The project also introduces many other aspects to the precinct €” including a cafe, function area, retail outlet, museum and community meeting rooms €” so that gaming is a minor component of the new, enlarged facility.

St Kilda are Actually one of the Better Teams too!

• North Melbourne is the only Victorian club not running poker machines.
• The other nine take about $90m from gamblers' pockets annually.

St Kilda is a minor player in the AFL industry's pokies habit, claiming just $1.25m in social club revenue in 2015.

 

Original story and source article –> HERE