Nsw Poker Machines Covid

Australians are switching to discount brands and borrowing less as new lockdown spending habits look set to outlive the coronavirus pandemic....

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COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose. Call the National Coronavirus Helpline 1800 020 080 (24-hour help line) Visit a COVID-19 testing clinic Call your doctor Visit the emergency department. Slot machines, also known as poker machines or 'pokies', are common in Australian pubs They are the machines that anti-gambling campaigners in Australia say have the addictive 'force of cocaine'.

COVID-19 (coronavirus) FAQs for the liquor and gaming industries The NSW Government is gradually easing COVID-19 restrictions to allow more businesses to open up and more people to stay in work. We continue to work with stakeholders and customers to navigate the path back to work in a COVID-safe way. Covid-19 leads to explosion in poker machine gambling in NSW. Duration: 01:50. Covid-19 leads to explosion in poker machine gambling in NSW ABC NEWS. Poker machine losses skyrocketed elsewhere as the COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted; in Queensland by more than 30 per cent and Tasmania 20 per cent. This tells us Australians are still highly vulnerable to gambling harm. Victorians will likely suffer similarly if reforms are not enacted, and Premier Daniel Andrews needs to hear it.

Australians are switching to discount brands and borrowing less as new lockdown spending habits look set to outlive the coronavirus pandemic.

The money gambled on poker machines has skyrocketed since Australians have emerged from lockdown.Source:News Limited

Australians have sunk hundreds of millions of dollars into poker machines since emerging from COVID-19 lockdowns, prompting renewed calls for licensed premises to do more to reduce rates of addiction.

Pubs and clubs across Queensland raked in almost $300 million in July alone, despite social distancing restrictions drastically reducing the number of patrons allowed inside at one time.

It was the sunshine state’s biggest monthly spend on gaming machines in the past three years, and came as soon as the state government eased coronavirus measures.

Punters in NSW also gambled big when they emerged from lockdown, losing more than $571 million in June, up more than $40 million on the same period last year.

Tasmania’s 520,000 residents expended a whopping $19 million on pokies per capita in July, $5 million more than was offloaded in February and equating to more than $612,000 a day.

Gamblers in South Australia drained their wallets of more than $73 million in the same month, compared to $62 million in 2019.

Victoria remains in lockdown but its more than six million people spent $235 million on poker machines in July 2019.

Gaming machines are only permitted in casinos in Western Australia.

RELATED: Queensland punters lose $4426 a minute as pokies love affairs hits all-time high

The amount of money spent on poker machines has skyrocketed after COVID-19 lockdowns eased across the country. Picture: Liam KidstonSource:News Limited

RELATED: State governments crave pokie revenue like an addict gambler needs a fix

Alliance for Gambling Reform advocate Anna Bardsley said the figures highlighted a concerning upward trend.

“The money that wasn’t lost in those few months when lockdown was on instead went to small businesses, it went to supermarkets, it went to putting food on the table,” she told the NCA NewsWire.

Ms Bardsley said while lockdown had helped some people break the cycle of addiction, it wasn’t enough time for most.

“I know from my own experience it took longer than a few months to rewire my brain,” she said.

“I will literally not give poker machines another dollar, but the recovery has been long and hard.”

A Queensland Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation spokeswoman said it worked with industry and gaming help services in the lead-up to pubs and clubs reopening, to ensure those at heightened risk had support.

“This included the option for patrons who may want to continue their break from in-venue gambling to exclude from a venue, or multiple venues, through a gambling help service, without physically attending a venue,” she said.

Anna Bardsley hasn’t gambled for more than 14 years. Picture: Penny StephensSource:News Corp Australia

RELATED:Extended Queensland pokie trading hours labelled ‘insane’

However, OLGR also confirmed the amount of money put through poker machines in July was 32 per cent higher than the same time last year, citing COVID-19 social and economic factors as contributors.

“OLGR continues to monitor these figures closely while engaging with industry and gambling help services to monitor any potential increase in gaming-related harm, to ensure suitable support options are available,” the spokeswoman said.

Mr Bardsley said it was time for the issue to finally be taken seriously.

“Industry needs to start being responsible for the danger of the machines they have on the floor.”

She called for warning signs to be installed, bets to be capped at $1 and changes to regulations that allow pubs and clubs to open 20 hours a day.

“Gaming rooms are the only part of a pub that’s open at four o’clock in the morning,” she said.

“Nothing good is happening then.

“It’s appalling.”

The Queensland Hotels Association chose not to comment.

We understand this is not your usual PokerNews article. However, the latest news about the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic convinced us of the opportunity to discuss the issue with our readers. Here we offer a few proven prevention tips to those travelling the circuit to play live poker.

On January 29, British Airways announced the decision to stop all flights to and from China as a precautionary response to the coronavirus outbreak.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal's reporter Stephanie Yang, the decision came as several countries started to repatriate citizens located in the most at-risk areas of Mainland China.

Nearly a month since the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on the first cases of pneumonia caused by an unknown virus in China's province of central Hubei, the coronavirus has infected people in 12 different countries.

Although WHO Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explains the outbreak 'has not yet become a global health emergency,' we believe this top be a good time to look at a few basic prevention measures we can all adopt to avoid the infection.

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Nsw Poker Machines Covid Machines

What Does This Have to Do with Poker?

Poker players are not more exposed to the risks of coronavirus' infection than anyone else — although there are some circumstances where a few simple measures can make a big difference.

Live tournament poker is as safe as it has ever been. In terms of health hazards, playing at a live tournament event is no different than standing on a subway train or queuing for a frappuccino at Starbucks.

So, why an article about coronavirus prevention tips for poker players?

In its first reports of clinical data from initial cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus, Lancet shares that 'education campaigns should be launched to promote precautions for travellers, including frequent hand-washing, cough etiquette, and use of personal protection equipment (eg, masks) when visiting public places.'

To follow up on Lancet's suggestion, we decided to share with all of you a series of prevention tips that will help you avoid the coronavirus infection, enjoy your live poker games, and focus on the only thing that matter: winning your poker hands.

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Wash your hands frequently

As simple as it sounds, washing your hands frequently is (by far) the most powerful tool in your infection prevention arsenal.

According to the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), the best way to do it is to 'wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.'

As a poker player, this is particularly important. You are always bound to touch surfaces that have been touched by multiple people.

From the poker chips to the cards at the table, many of the things you will come into contact at a casino are a potential vehicle of germs.

But you don't need to come across something as serious-sounding as the coronavirus to understand it's good to wash your hands every now and then.

Just head to the restroom during the break, put your hands under the water for 20 seconds, and stop worrying about what could happen if you didn't.

P.S. If you don't have time for that, a bit of hand sanitiser will do the trick.

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Stop touching your your face that often

An old article published on November 15, 2012, in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases reports that 'people touch their faces an average of 3.6 times per hour, and common objects an average of 3.3 times per hour.'

The same article, which was published long before the coronavirus was even a thing, stresses the fact that 'touching your mouth or nose can spread the flu.'

Here's a piece of advice, then: don't do it.

When there are viruses around, touching one's mouth and nose is possibly the easiest (and stupidest, perhaps?) way to transfer them between their face and their hand.

Limiting the number of times we touch our nose and mouth is one of the best and most effective ways to prevent 'self inoculation' and stay healthy.

And if you are a nail-biter, you now have the perfect excuse to stop this terrible habit.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue

Nsw

Here's another one that you should be doing anyway, regardless of any risks of serious infections.

Coughing or sneezing on your hand before you touch cards or you play a chip trick? Not cool.

Wiping your hands clean on your trousers (or the back of your chair?) to then restart to fiddle with chips as if nothing has happened? It's beyond 'not cool. Believe me.

Poker is a community card game where we all share many things together. And etiquette has a role in it too.

Coughing and sneezing are fine. Just cover your mouth and nose with a disposable tissue and throw it away.

Don't re-use the same tissue more than once. (yack.) And if you don't want to think about the coronavirus, think about common decency.

You are at the table with other players and a dealer. No one is interested in what's in your tissue — so use it, fold it, and throw it away.

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You can leave the surgical mask at home

On January 28, CNN's Scottie Andrew reported on 'a run of surgical masks' in the US due to the coronavirus scare.

Apparently, some major retailers are selling out on basic surgical masks as people feel these can help them reduce the risk of infection.

Planning to get yourself one?

Before you show up at a poker room with a surgical mask on, read this.

'There's no need to wear surgical masks in the US,' stated University of California professor and infectious disease expert Dr. Charles Chiu.

'There's no evidence that [wearing face masks] is going to help prevent that infection.'

Similarly, a paper by Columbia University, explains how the use of surgical masks is not proven to have any effects in preventing infections and should not be seen as a replacement of the basic persona hygiene measures mentioned earlier.

'Wearing a mask doesn’t mean you should avoid tried and true hygiene practices,' Professor of epidemiology at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, Stephen Morse said.

If you want to help yourself and stay healthier, 'Wash your hands frequently, keep away from people who are coughing or sneezing, cover your coughs and sneezes, don’t touch your mouth nose, or eyes after touching an object that may be contaminated.'