Pokie Free Challenge

At the weekend our Synod resolved that parishes should not receive grants from the proceeds of Class 4 gambling (i.e. pokie machines). Towards that end a great website-come-challenge has been set up by my colleagues working in Social Justice for the Diocese/Anglican Care.

Here is a slice of the content:

"Christchurch has a sinking lid policy. This means that when any venue gets rid of its pokies the city-wide remainder is the new maximum number of machines. With more than 1 in 4 people who play regularly developing an addiction and around 2 million dollars a day being lost to pokie machines, any reduction helps.

Legally, venues cannot rely on their pokies to survive, and a number of venues have expressed that they don’t really like their machines. So just what would it take to get rid of them? And who will claim it first? Pledge generously and see where the tipping-point is for a bar.

So to re-cap: Fill in the PLEDGE box with whatever you are willing to give to a bar to remove its pokies. Whatever you pledge will appear in the OFFERS column with your company logo and link to your page if you would like. If you own a venue that has pokies and you like the look of the offers column then fill in the ACCEPT box, permanently get rid of your pokies, and claim all the pledges on offer. Win-win, everyone is happy."

Go HERE for the full site and the opportunity to write down how you respond to the challenge.

If you are not from Christchurch, how about a similar crack at pokies in your city or region?