Max’s review of Shaun Micallef’s Going For Broke shows how gambling can be normalised through mateship, beers and a day out with friends - while the risks are pushed out of sight.

Max said, “When the presenter, Shaun, met with a group of young men it made me feel concerned at how much each bloke gambled.”

He also said, “The group of friends seemed to be having a great time with laughs and beers but may be unaware of the dangers of the possibility of getting addicted to gambling on the horses or dogs.”

We need stronger action to challenge the normalisation of gambling and protect young people from gambling harm.

We’re excited for the launch of Shaun Micallef’s three-part series Shaun Micallef’s Going For Broke, exploring why Australians are the world’s biggest gamblers and how the odds are stacked against the next generation.

Watch as Shaun asks the question: “are we really the lucky country?”

We want to hear your comments on the program, which you can watch on ABC iview at 8pm tonight.

Pressure is building on Premier Chris Minns to take stronger action on poker machines, with senior NSW Labor figures backing plans to cut machine numbers across the state. One proposal would halve poker machines over the next decade, as losses hit a record $9.3 billion in NSW in 2025.

The need for action is clear: people lost a record $9.3 billion on NSW poker machines in 2025. Voice for Gambling Reform advocate Max knows how predatory the industry is: “The artistry of poker machines is captivating. It's all designed to keep you engaged even though you're losing money.” Max knows that poker machines are designed - carefully, expensively, by teams of engineers and psychologists; to keep you sitting there for as long as possible. Max recounted that "some casinos pump pleasant fragrances through the air. Gentle music plays after small wins. The screens are built to be beautiful, to catch your eye and hold it."

Communities need reform that reduces gambling harm and puts people before poker machine profits.

Australians lose more to gambling per person than anyone else in the world, with $1,500 lost per adult each year. Behind that statistic are people pushed into debt, prison, family breakdown and suicidal distress.

One person harmed by gambling said: “I nearly took my own life over gambling because we just don't have the safeguards in place to protect vulnerable people.”

These stories show gambling harm is not about individual responsibility or weakness - it is about dangerous products, relentless access and systems that fail to protect people before the damage is done.

Online lotteries are booming, and gambling companies are finding new ways to reach people.

This article links Sportsbet to Sportsdream Rewards, a subscription-based prize scheme reportedly hidden behind the same shell company used to secretly run the NRL’s tipping competition.

Australia already has the world’s highest gambling losses. We need stronger rules to stop gambling companies using rewards clubs, prize draws and data harvesting as back doors into people’s lives.

Alliance Leadership Council member Greater Dandenong is calling for a full gambling ad ban, as the community faces some of Melbourne’s heaviest poker machine losses.

Greater Dandenong mayor Sophie Tan said young people were being targeted by online gambling ads, compounding the area’s heavy losses on poker machines.

The Alliance CEO Martin Thomas warned: “Our kids are also exposed to a tsunami of gambling ads on television and through the sports broadcasts.”

Young people should be protected from gambling harm, not targeted by an industry built on losses.