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Redback Quarterly #11
Losing Streak: How Tasmania Was Gamed by the Gambling Industry
A jaw-dropping account of how one company came to own every poker machine in the state of Tasmania – and the cost to democracy, the public purse and problem gamblers and their families.
The story begins with the toppling of a premier, and ends with David Walsh, the man behind MONA, taking an eccentric stand against pokie machines and the political status quo.
It is a story of broken politics and back-room deals. It shows how giving one company the licence to all the poker machines in Tasmania has led to several hundred million dollars of profits (mainly from problem gamblers) being diverted from public use, through a series of questionable and poorly understood deals.
Losing Streak is a meticulous, compelling case study in governance failure, which has implications for pokies reform throughout Australia.
The story begins with the toppling of a premier, and ends with David Walsh, the man behind MONA, taking an eccentric stand against pokie machines and the political status quo.
It is a story of broken politics and back-room deals. It shows how giving one company the licence to all the poker machines in Tasmania has led to several hundred million dollars of profits (mainly from problem gamblers) being diverted from public use, through a series of questionable and poorly understood deals.
Losing Streak is a meticulous, compelling case study in governance failure, which has implications for pokies reform throughout Australia.
248 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2017
10 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
About the author
James Boyce
6 books33 followersI am an independent writer and historian who lives in Hobart. I have written five major books. My first, Van Diemen’s Land, (2008) was described by Tim Flannery as ‘the first ecologically based social history of colonial Australia’ that was a ‘must read for anyone interested in how land shapes people’. 1835: The Founding of Melbourne and the Conquest of Australia (2011), that reimagined the cultural and legal context for the conquest of the continent, was the Age Book of the year in 2012. Both colonial histories won the Tasmanian Book Prize and won or were short listed in multiple other national book awards. Born Bad: Original Sin and the Making of the Western World (2014), was published in Australia as well as the US and the UK (the Washington Post described it as an ‘brilliant and exhilarating work of popular scholarship’.) More recently, Losing Streak: How Tasmania was Gamed by the Gambling Industry (2016), was long listed in the Walkley Book Award, short listed in the Ashurst Business Literature Prize and won the People Choices Category in the Premiers Literary Prizes, as well as contributing to public debate about gambling policy. In July 2020, my first English history book was released. Imperial Mud: The Fight for the Fens explores the resistance by local people to the drainage and enclosure of the wondrous wetlands of eastern England. It is the story of empire played out in the imperial homeland.
My books are serious history written for a general readership. While I don’t compromise on research, I also don’t assume prior knowledge. My aim is to write books that can be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the subject. I believe that history does belongs to us all, because who we are, how we see the world and what future we imagine, is all shaped by the stories of the past.
My books are serious history written for a general readership. While I don’t compromise on research, I also don’t assume prior knowledge. My aim is to write books that can be read and enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the subject. I believe that history does belongs to us all, because who we are, how we see the world and what future we imagine, is all shaped by the stories of the past.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 15, 2017
Every Tasmanian, former Tasmanian, relative of a Tasmanian, or anybody with even the vaguest interest in social justice in Australia should read this book.
It's a timely exposé of how crony capitalists and corrupt politicians have been rorting the Island State for years. A damning indictment of the lack of integrity, intellect, and imagination among an insular and self serving political class.
But, generations of gross ineptitude and shysterism have unintentionally resulted in a unique and limited opportunity for change. Countdown 2018.
When you've finished pass your copy on to friends, family, or your local member.
Time's up!
It's a timely exposé of how crony capitalists and corrupt politicians have been rorting the Island State for years. A damning indictment of the lack of integrity, intellect, and imagination among an insular and self serving political class.
But, generations of gross ineptitude and shysterism have unintentionally resulted in a unique and limited opportunity for change. Countdown 2018.
When you've finished pass your copy on to friends, family, or your local member.
Time's up!
October 26, 2017
Boyce has illustrated the insidious grip the pokie industry has on tasmania's government and economy with this well researched historic narrative. It is written in a way that is engaging and enjoyable to read given the weight of the topic. I hope that this book provides the stimulus for change at this pivotal point in time.
September 13, 2017
Comprehensive coverage of the history of Federal Hotels in Tasmania and the unprecedented influence they have had over public policy for decades. Absolutely essential reading for all Tasmanian's. We can only hope for a change come 2018.
March 25, 2017
Writtten in an easy to read, page turning style, this is a thoroughly researched, no holds barred, brutally honest exposition of the pokie monopoly in Tasmania. A must read.
May 28, 2017
Well written and a must read .. a revelation of corruption, politics and back-room deals and of how one company has the licence to all the poker machines in Tasmania.
An eye opener.
An eye opener.
April 23, 2021
Excellent read - explains the damage done by a greedy Sydney family to thousands of Tasmanians
October 27, 2020
A coin dropping history of the influence of poker machine gambling on Tasmanian politics.
Drawing on a myriad of historical documents, James Boyce outlines the pivotal role of a family owned company on the labyrinthine politics of Liberal and Australian Labor Party representatives that is a recurring presence in political and social decisions. Particularly as painted in retrospect, many decisions described by James Boyce don’t appear particularly wise, meritorious or particularly well serving of public interest.
Published in 2017, the book is unfortunately unable to illuminate what occurred when the Australian Labor Party took a much stronger stand against poker machine gambling interests than the history detailed in Losing Streak discloses. Perhaps there will be a welcome follow-up edition?
As a barrister who has represented countless people whose lives and those around them have been destroyed by problem gambling, the purported lack of decency and ethics detailed in this concise history of gambling in Tasmania made me furious and despairing at times.
Well worth reading. For those of us who have high hopes for good government, Losing Streak is worth reading for lessons in understanding that decency and the public interest is not worth gambling with.
Drawing on a myriad of historical documents, James Boyce outlines the pivotal role of a family owned company on the labyrinthine politics of Liberal and Australian Labor Party representatives that is a recurring presence in political and social decisions. Particularly as painted in retrospect, many decisions described by James Boyce don’t appear particularly wise, meritorious or particularly well serving of public interest.
Published in 2017, the book is unfortunately unable to illuminate what occurred when the Australian Labor Party took a much stronger stand against poker machine gambling interests than the history detailed in Losing Streak discloses. Perhaps there will be a welcome follow-up edition?
As a barrister who has represented countless people whose lives and those around them have been destroyed by problem gambling, the purported lack of decency and ethics detailed in this concise history of gambling in Tasmania made me furious and despairing at times.
Well worth reading. For those of us who have high hopes for good government, Losing Streak is worth reading for lessons in understanding that decency and the public interest is not worth gambling with.
January 28, 2018
A fascinating insight into the interactions between government and the corporate world. Enlightening but depressing as well. Losing Streak should give Tasmanians a pause to think.
December 30, 2018
A thought provoking easy read, lots of research went into the making of this book, which makes it very interesting.
March 21, 2020
Very detailed and a little depressing - a longitudinal study on decision making in politics - the major parties are definitely in the pockets of big business.
March 5, 2024
Really interesting read. I met the author at Hobart's Salamanca Markets and heard the background of the story.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews