Community benefits from club gambling
Thu 07 June 2007
Jane Fynes-Clinton, Journalism
Poker machines may be controversial, but the revenue they raised gave clubs a chance to give back to the community, a Sunshine Coast RSL club manager said.
Beerwah RSL & Citizens Memorial Club operations manager Mary Kilkenny said since introducing its first five poker machines in April 1992, the club had expanded its facilities and made donations to all local schools, local ambulance branch, State Emergency Service, Scout and Guide groups and local sports clubs.
“(The poker machine introduction) was reluctantly agreed to by the then management committee but they soon changed their views when the profits increased, allowing for the expansion of the club facilities,” Mrs Kilkenny said “The most recent (of these is) the new outdoor dining deck, completed last year.”
The Queensland Household Gambling Survey in 2003-04 found that more than 72 per cent of Queensland adults are recreational gamblers. The survey found that about 8 per cent of adults were either problem gamblers, or at some risk of becoming problem gamblers.
The government expects to gather $582 million in revenue from gaming machine taxes this financial year – almost triple the amount since it came to office in 1998 from $177 million a year.
Mrs Kilkenny said the club now had 51 poker machines, which broadened Beerwah RSL’s capabilities.
“Gaming profits – although reduced considerably in the last 12 months due to the introduction of the smoking legislation – have permitted us to inject a lot more funds into the community by way of donations,” Mrs Kilkenny said.
“It has generated more employment within the Club from no permanent positions to 30 paid staff with numerous contractors and two apprentice chefs and four school based-traineeships.
“In conjunction with the local high school, we have been able to provide in excess of 30 traineeships to students over a period of seven years, which is we believe an essential commitment to the youth in our community.”
The Beerwah RSL was opened in 1979 with 58 members. It initially served as a meeting place for returned servicemen and women who lived in the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
The club is compelled to uphold the values of the national RSL organisation.
The club serves the Beerburrum, Glass House Mountains, Beerwah, Landsborough and Maleny areas.
Mrs Kilkenny said club membership had grown from less than 1000 in 1990 when she began to work there, to almost 4000 now, with 80 new membership applications each month.
“Initially the club was just a meeting place for the local people to have a drink and discuss the weather, their crops and to offer seasonal jobs, have a game of pool and on special occasions have a meal with … family and friends,” Mrs Kilkenny said. “Now it is an entertainment venue catering for all – free live entertainment, daily dining and coffee shop, private functions/meetings and a variety of gaming facilities.”
Image(s) designed by n/a