Pokies addicts share stories as gambling reform becomes NSW election issue: Jay Bateman and Tim Gray

From using a poker machine on a night out at 18 to being allowed into a VIP room as a ‘high’ 15-year-old, two former poker machine addicts have shared their stories of damage and recovery. of the game.

For 28-year-old Central Coast actor Jay Bateman, a night out with friends shortly after his 18th birthday sparked a nearly decade-long battle with gambling addiction.

He describes going to a Pub TAB room back then as a “right of way,” but as his friends stopped by, he couldn’t.

“(Using the poker machines) is probably one of the first things you want to do,” he told NCA NewsWire.

‘I thought it was the right thing to do because everyone is talking about it. (It was like) you’d have to see for yourself and try it.’

Mr Bateman shared his story amidst gambling reform which emerged as a dominant issue in the run up to the NSW state election on March 25. To date, both major parties have published policies to reduce money laundering through gaming machines and decrease gambling damage.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has pledged to make all poker machines cashless by 2025, with players being able to set a daily limit that can only be increased every seven days, as well as ban automatic and credit card recharges.

Opposition leader Chris Minns has proposed a cashless trial of 500 machines, plus $500 cash-in limits, reduced from $5000.

By the time Mr. Bateman turned 19, most of his salary went to the game. A small loss for the tradie-turned-social worker was around $50 in one night, however that number could go as high as $2000 if he was trying to “chase the win.”

He estimates that he would have lost around $50,000 on the poker machines during their fight.

“They were paying me about $1,200 a week and I was going to play a half hour after I got in,” Bateman said.

“You’d probably lose $200 that night, then you’d feel bad, and then the next day you’d want to come back because you lost it. It is a vicious circle.

To this day, Mr. Bateman doesn’t understand what led to his ‘full-time addiction’. During his heyday, he says he used poker machines most days of the week.

“Pretty much any free time I had, I would see myself going out on the road to play and use them,” he said.

‘To be honest, I don’t even know how I got there. They just get you.

‘All day, they’re bringing free pies and sausage rolls. They have all these things and it’s like they’re setting the stage so you don’t leave.

About six months ago, Mr. Bateman lost his last dollar on a poker machine. Paralyzed by financial stress, he found himself borrowing money from his family members, despite reaching out to concerned friends and family.

“He couldn’t save for anything and he wouldn’t leave me anything,” he said.

Mr Bateman said the process of quitting was “quite easy” once he made up his mind, and he also attended counseling sessions at Wesley Mission that helped him “open up” about his addiction.

My grandmother sent me to Mission Wesley. I received a brochure from her two months ago; that was a good phone call,’ she added.

“I figured it out and found that the real payoff is if you don’t put money in the machine.”

‘I went to my first slot machine parlor at 15’: Tim Gray, 42

Sydney tour guide, local musician and Gumbayngirr/Wiradjuri/Bidjigal man Tim Gray, 42, says he went to his first slot parlor at the age of 15.

“I’ve been doing that since I was 15 years old. They would let me into pubs because I was so tall and they just wanted the money,” he told NCA NewsWire.

‘It was always the money. Desiring more and more. Especially being an addict, even if you win, it’s not enough.’

While Mr. Gray has been sober from drugs and alcohol since 2008, he noted that he continued to gamble through the poker machines “on and off” during his sobriety.

‘When an addict stops drinking, he wants to stop, but I didn’t want to stop gambling; I just wanted to have something,” he said.

“I also always struggled with money and just wanted some easy money to get my little house. Now I’ve realized that’s not going to work.

‘Now I am treating the game as I did alcohol and drinking. GA, advice and a financial adviser,’ she added.

Gray said that the peak of his fight came in October 2022, when he hit rock bottom, is he going to kill me? moment.

Staying in a motel for work, he spent the cost of the motel and the rent money gambling.

“They would have arrested me but someone paid for me,” he said.

It was the thought of his rescue cat, Crystal, while she was at her lowest point that made him stop and reflect.

“Even all this time while I was broke, I made sure this cat had food and litter, even though I didn’t,” he said.

As he nears his 90th day of sobriety, Mr. Gray wants to share his struggles in hopes of helping others.

Just ask for help. It’s definitely not easy, but just reach out to someone you trust and don’t feel embarrassed,” he said.

“That’s why it can be good to talk to counselors and people on the phone, like Lifeline.”

He hopes that the current talks about gambling reform will eventually reduce the number of poker machines in pubs and clubs, and he hopes venues can replace lost revenue through food or live music.

“I hardly ever went to the casino, even in my worst gambling period, I would head to a pub or club,” he said.

‘We don’t need things that are going to take all our money away. Communities need things to help us.

‘What is more important? Income or lives?