Perils of the Pokies Case Studies

These stories were collected from older women who had developed problems with gambling as part of WIRE’s ‘Perils of the Pokies’ research conducted in 2005.

Marion

For many years Marion had been her mother’s carer. Her mother loved going to the pokies and Marion would take her in her wheelchair and just sit there and wait.

When her mother died, Marion, at 68, was on her own for the first time in her life. Looking for ways to fill her time she started going to the local pokie venue where she could chat to the staff and feel less lonely and enjoy a cheap sandwich and a free cup of coffee.

‘It was soothing to get out and just sit in front of a machine not having to think about anything.’

At first she didn’t gamble much but it progressively got to the point where, on pension day, she’d withdraw $400, play the machines and leave without a cent. Spending the money became normal to her.

‘I started to think, what’s going to happen to me? I’m 73, my earning capacity’s gone, I don’t want end up in a home and I’m scared of death.’ It wasn’t just being hooked on the gambling itself. The financial ramifications were terrifying.’
Marion finally rang Gambler’s Help to talk about her gambling problem because she was so traumatised she could no longer keep it to herself.

‘If I had to give advice to other women I’d say, if you’ve started be careful.

Conny

Conny started to go on pokie trips to NSW a couple of times a year. Whether she was winning or losing, when it was time to leave she never wanted to go home. Then the pokies came to Melbourne and a venue opened just around the corner from where Conny lived. She loved it. The atmosphere was exciting, it was dark and she felt protected as she sat at a machine – like being in a cocoon.

At first she went with her neighbours. They often played the same machine together. Then she started going alone. So did her neighbours. Sometimes they’d see each other there and put their finger to their lips. It was a secret they kept for each other.

Although she was working full time she found ways of finding time to go to the pokies and finding the money to play. She was ashamed of her habit and felt she had to cover it up. She became very good at lying

Once she was playing the pokies she’d never think of bills. If she had money in her purse she’d have to spend it. If there was money in her account she’d use the ATM. She’d spend all her pay. She started dipping into money put aside to buy a house. She also built up a $5,000 credit card debt. During this time she did have thoughts of stopping but could bury them so long as she thought she was coping.

Then the crunch came. Her husband found out about her dipping into the house money. It was time to stop.

Betty

When the pokies first came to Victoria, Betty was bored by them. But many of her friends gambled and sometimes she’d go with them. Then she started going on her own. ‘When you live on your own, they are a place to go when you’re lonely. You can talk to people and the staff make you feel like it’s your own personal club.’

Betty has been diagnosed with depression and believes that she has suffered from it for a long time without being told what it was. She doesn’t really know what started first, the depression or the gambling.

Sometimes Betty manages to go two months without going to the pokies but then she thinks, “I’ve got it under control now,” and off she goes again. Of people like herself, she says, “We know, but we can’t do anything about it.”
At one stage when she really felt her gambling was under control she went away on holiday with a friend and had a big win.

It was a great feeling and she started chasing it again. ‘It’s the adrenaline rush, the anticipation. Even when you’re up you’ll just sit there, wanting more, wanting the thrill. And before you know it you’ve lost it all. It’s not often that you walk out happy.’

‘But then you go to another venue thinking that maybe your luck will change. Besides, you can’t keep going to the same place or people will realise you have a problem. You promise yourself that if you win the big jackpot you will never go again.’

Colleen

When Colleen started playing the pokies about seven years ago, it was a fun thing that she did with her best friend. It was not a secret. Then her best friend returned to Ireland and Colleen started going alone. ‘I used it as a treat for myself, a reward for completing all the mundane tasks for my home and family.’

Her husband took up a position inter-state, which meant rotating shifts of six weeks at a time. While he was away Colleen was resentful and lonely. She was going to the pokies more and more and began to feel ashamed. ‘I’d go for time out. I’d order coffee and stay as long as I could. I knew I was doing the wrong thing. It got to the point where I didn’t want to be with anyone. I just wanted to be on my own.’

As her losses grew Colleen took on another job one night per week to make ends meet. ‘The pokies are so insidious. You don’t realise how much you’re spending. When money was a problem I’d block it out. I’d think, “I’ll get it elsewhere” or, “I’ll win it next time”. I realised I had a problem when I didn’t have the money for my son’s braces.’

It came to a head when her husband returned from an eight-week stint away. When he gave Colleen a pair of beautiful earrings she felt so unworthy that she burst into tears and confessed. What followed were two dreadful years. ‘I was facing all the things I didn’t realise were wrong with myself and my marriage.’

Marg

Marg started playing the pokies about seven or eight years ago. At first it was social. She went with the family, often there would be about ten of them out for Sunday lunch. It seemed there’d be something to celebrate every month. Then very gradually Marg started going more often. She thinks she went because she was lonely – she found sole parenting stressful and she was not accountable to anyone.

So she used to drop off her son at her parent’s place and say she was going out for a drink. Sometimes she wanted time out; sometimes she was chasing her losses. Gradually it crept up on her and she crossed the line. Looking back, Marg is amazed at this. She never even bet on the Melbourne Cup.

While she was gambling, Marg says, it was like being behind “a veil of iron”. Nothing could penetrate. She says no one would have known she had a problem because it didn’t change her behaviour when she was with other people.

It took two years for Marg to stop gambling.

To the Top