Three federal MPs are calling on workers in the poker machine industry to become whistleblowers and send them secret information about how the industry conducts its business.
Independent senators Nick Xenophon and Andrew Wilkie, and Greens senator Larissa Waters, launched their “pokie-leaks” campaign on Tuesday.
They want information such as how poker machines are designed to exploit vulnerable players, or how the industry influences political parties behind the scenes.
They would release the information in the Senate using parliamentary privilege, they said. They promised to keep whistleblowers’ identities protected at all times.
Waters told Guardian Australia the campaign would allow her parliamentary colleagues to expose the methods used by the industry to entrap gamblers.
She said using parliamentary privilege was a way to shield whistleblowers without involving complicated legislative provisions, which vary from state to state.
“We want to help the public realise that they’re being conned by poker machines,” she said.
“The industry has a history of making big donations to the major political parties, and they’ve got a history of suing politicians who get in their way, so I’m under no illusions that this will be a walk in the park.”
Australians lost $1,241 per person on gambling in 2014-15, with poker machines the biggest cause of gambler losses at $11.6bn, an increase of 4.9% on the previous year.
The politicians’ campaign is supported by the Alliance for Gambling Reform, a coalition of business people, academics and politicians who want greater restrictions on the industry.
Xenophon said his Adelaide office had recently received a USB anonymously with information that might expose how poker machines are programmed to make play more addictive.
“If you know something that needs to be revealed, tell us, and with parliamentary privilege, we can tell everyone. For too long, this predatory industry has relied on secret and harmful features, which are designed to be addictive,” he said.
Also attending the “pokie-leaks” campaign launch were former gambling addict Shonica Guy, who is suing Crown Casino and poker machine manufacturer Aristocrat for misleading and deceptive conduct under consumer law.
