Should pokie venues be allowed to build child play areas?
Join the debate in the comments below VCGR executive commissioner Peter Cohen said it was better to have children inside the venue than being left outside in a car. “I am not concerned about children seeing poker machines because I don’t think that’s as harmful as … children being unsupervised,” he said. “I’m a realist. People will gamble. If they are going to gamble, I would rather they have their children supervised.” Mr Cohen said he was unaware of any other venues in Victoria where gamblers could see directly into the children’s play area. The VCGR has no guidelines on how play rooms or children’s amenities are regulated. Child-free pokies advocate Paul Bendat said the regulator was out of control. “It’s a disgrace. It basically normalises gambling. Little kids say, ‘Look at all the grandmas and grandpas playing all the pokies in the room’,” he said. Cardinia Council last year refused to grant planning permission to Pink Hill director Robin Daley to build the $8.4 million pokies
