Lose your home in, well, the comfort of your home.

While you still have a home anyway.

See:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/tv-betting-gets-the-green-light/2008/02/20/1203467183330.html

SNIP

VICTORIANS will soon be able to place racing bets from home using their TVs and remote controllers, in a move that opponents say will turn living rooms into "gambling dens".

SNIP

A spokeswoman for Gaming Minister Tony Robinson said the application was approved by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation and "meets the appropriate security and integrity requirements".

And this, presumably said with a straight face:

"(It) offers extended responsible gambling messaging and provides safeguarding of the service from possible use by minors," the spokeswoman said.

END SNIPS

Has the Victorian government gone collectively insane?

Dear Steven,

Telephone betting is already available in 100% of homes. Internet betting is available in every home that has an internet connection.
Which is over 60% of homes in Melbourne.

The TV betting service will be only available to Foxtel subscribers, which is around the 30 - 40% of homes in Melbourne and everyone who can use this service can already bet by phone or internet (so this is merely an alternative on offer).

Pin numbers are needed - and the racing channel can be locked out by subscribers to stop minors using it.

I'm not saying that I'm pro - TV betting (I'm not a gambler - unless you count my once a year flutter on the Melbourne Cup), but those that want to gamble - already have plenty of choices. Perhaps with
this alternative - kids won't have to be left in cars - in parking lots? Just a thought...

nothing wrong with the government. they are pursuing re-election as well as they can. that's their profession. you appear to think the government should be your fairy godmother, in the face of experience and logic.

political science axiom no.1: "you get the government you deserve."

Dear Demos,

I'm sure that the are people in countries around the world that would strongly disagree with you - including the United States.

I agree with Steven.It is insanity.The scourge of gamboling destroys the human spirit thus productivity.Puting aside the unhappiness of the individual,it also destroys economic productivity and means less revenue for lazy incompetent State Govts.
Just another reason to shed a tier of Govt.

I have to credit Steven with presenting us almost daily with quite interesting contemporary issues to consider and discuss.

However, as in this case, it's often an issue of 'much ado about nothing'. While I often jokingly claim that gambling is about the only vice to which I've never been captive, it's certainly a quintessentially Aussie pastime. We all know the cliches about betting on two flies climbing a wall etc.

I think this thread is fundamentally a case of another immigrant who doesn't 'get' Aussie culture yet. In my opinion, the Victorian government is simply keeping up with the times. As Foxy says, telephone and Internet gambling are currently already available to most people who'd access this new interface anyway.

I make no moral judgement about gambling, beyond saying that I hardly ever do it. However, one can argue that certain investment and business decisions are a form of gambling, as indeed is any decision made when one isn't 100% sure of the outcome ;)