Changing Fortunes

By 2000, clubs in NSW Australia collectively operated§around 75,000 §gaming machines or 8 per cent of high intensity machines §worldwide. This study examines how these clubs have§strategically §managed the issue of problem gambling. Stage One§traces the §development of machine gambling in these§not-for-profit venues §and explains how increased commercialisation§diminished their §social contract and exacerbated problem gambling.§Stage Two §analyses how other factors also fuelled the emergence§of problem §gambling as a significant social issue. Stage Three§considers the §relevance of theoretical and applied models of social§responsibility §to NSW clubs in addressing problem gambling. The§fourth and fifth §stages draw on interviews, case studies and a survey§to assess how §NSW clubs interpreted their social responsibilities§in gambling by §the late 1990s, while Stage Six assesses their§congruence with §stakeholder expectations. The seventh stage considers§implications §of key developments during the late 1990s which saw§the clubs §stance evolve from reluctant acceptance to pragmatic§involvement §when faced with government inquiries and responsible§gambling §legislation.