Poker Machines Hitting it Big or a Big Hit

¶ … dangerous consumptions that have been legalized like tobacco and alcohol, the expansion of high-intensity commercial gambling on the global scale seems like a recent phenomenon. People are being entertained since the ancient times from these games that put the resources of the one who is playing them at risk (Moodie and Hastings, 2009). It has been in the last 30 years that modern expansion of such extensive nature has taken place. The affluent western societies have particularly been hit by this expansion of gambling.

This increase has been associated with national lotteries' introduction in Europe, the expansion of casinos from riverboats and reservations into the most populated areas of North America as well as the increase in the number of proliferation of electronic gambling machines (EGMs) that are now being found very commonly in Australia (Chapman, 2007). Expansions of similar sort can currently be observed to be taking place in places like Latin America, Europe as well as South East Asia (Turcotte, 2003).

Explain why this is an issue of justice or the common good When the new gambling methods and products are compared to the older methods where friends would go to a bingo hall, or play poker in some back room or when time was spent by the families at some racetrack, it can clearly be seen that today's modern gambling has become very different from the older days of gambling (see Livingstone and Woolley, 2007).

The modern gambling mainly focuses on the on-going and rapid consumption that is mainly focused on the individuals who bet in the areas that are becoming a part of the more and more dislocated environment. This increase can most evidently be seen in the quick rise of the EGM begging like slots, VLTs, pokies and fruit machines which are present in the bars as well as the casinos along with the availability of remote gambling being delivered to you through internet, mobile phones as well as television (Griffiths, 2009; Samarasinghe, 2009).

Identify the people or group who have a stake in the issue and analyze their perspectives on it (you should analyze at three perspectives including only ONE of those covered in class) why may some stakeholders not want the situation to change? A lot of criticism has been done by the anti-poker activists who believe that by making use of their marketing resources the large corporations have been building this family-oriented image of their places when in actuality these places have been trying to attract the people and the young generation to spend their money gambling on the poker machines (Herald Sun, 2011).

It was observed in a study that the poker machines play a very important role in their marketing too. The way that they are designed, the music that plays on the, and the visual effects all are there to entertain the people.

Continued gambling is promoted by these machines, the 'bells and whistles' present in the machines results in loss of control of the senses to a certain extent because of which the machines tend to have a narcotic impact on the players which is a lot similar to cocaine (Kruger, 2011). The location or the way that these machines are located in the bars and pubs also plays a very important role in making the customers aware of them on a conscious or unconscious level.

Many bars and pubs try to cater to different customers like smokers and non-smokers. Therefore, bars of this sort put their machines in the outdoor areas as well where there are smokers present, while there are also bars and pubs that place these machines in such a way that the customers have to pass them when they enter the bars or when they have to go from one part of the bar or pub to another (see, Radoilska, 2006).

When the marketing strategies of the pubs and clubs to attract the customers are observed it can clearly be seen that they pay a lot of importance to the additional P.

which means "physical evidence." Even though there are regulations against such arrangements but still many of the bars and pubs have ambiance and settings of such a type that would make the customers feel like they are in a cruise ship or a casino where they can access the drinks and there is staff that is coming to the clients, while they are playing, in order to take their orders (see, Valenzuela and Fisher, 2012).

There are even some places that have provided a play area for the kids where they can play with toys and even video games of their choice. This gives the parents the freedom to not only have dinner alone but also do some gambling on the poker machines.

There are some places that are planning on putting these kids' rooms in plain view of the machines so that the parents and the care takers would not only be attracted to come to the machines but they would also feel comfortable in staying in front of those machines and playing for longer period of times (see, Valenzuela and Fisher, 2012). It has also been noticed that the pubs and bars that offer gambling facilities have increased the amount of money that they spend on their promotions and advertising.

Due to the 'family-oriented' environment that is promoted by these places, families prefer coming here and when they come they more often than not spend some of their time and money on the poker machines as well.

However, these places have been able to attract some new customers as well due to the family environment image being created and maintained by these places and as a result of this it can be said that more people have become a part of this gambling industry (see, Valenzuela and Fisher, 2012; also see, Murray, 2012). There was a research done by Binde (2007) which showed that the problems due to gambling actually increase when gambling is advertised.

The reason for that is the fact that advertisements get stuck in the minds of the youth and it is easier for them to recall them (Amey, 2001; Derevensky et al., 2007; Felsher et al., 2004). According to the studies it has been observed that the chances of individuals gambling increases when they remember or recall the gambling commercials that they see.

Interestingly, it seems that these places with poker machines on one hand try to make these machines and playing on them as attractive as it can get, whereas on the other hand they also accept the social responsibility that they have towards the gamblers who don't have a control on the amount that is spend by them on playing poker (see, Murray, 2012). In a previous research the negative impacts of problem gambling and various issues concerning those impacts were discussed.

In this paper we have taken this discussion one step forward and talked about the present public debate regarding the poker machines, the impact they have on the society and the role played by the Federal Government in the regulation of the gambling done on these poker machines (see, Murray, 2012).

The reason why this research is of so much importance is the fact that in this research the various perspectives of major shareholders will be highlighted along with the attention that will be paid to the complex issues that arise with regards to the political agenda which is stimulated.

Therefore, once the above mentioned information has been considered the stakeholders that are a part of advertising the poker gambling problem can as well have the following stakeholders along with the machine/government/casino makers: • Social venues • Social network websites • Social clubs, hotels and pubs • Social gamblers i.e. those who gamble for entertainment purposes • Modern marketers • Problem gamblers i.e.

those addicted to gambling • Social network website promoters and marketers Analyze the issue in terms of the common good and the principles the promote human flourishing There are three major ways through which the modern provision concerning gambling can be distinguished. Gambling distribution takes complete advantage of the methods and the corporate systems when it moves from the small localized provisions to the commercial operations of large-scale.

These corporate systems are exactly like the ones that have enabled entities like McDonalds to be present around every other corner in various communities. Secondly, consoles like EGMs have been able to maximize their potential to not only attract but engage the players by investing in the sophisticated corporate physiological and electronic technologies (Caraniche, 2005).

Lastly, the fact has to be kept in mind that whether it is the private sector like in Australia that provides gambling or the government monopolies like those in Canada, this phenomenon is expanding on the global scale and there are multi-national organizations that are involved in this gambling process from the design to the manufacturing to the distribution of these gambling products.

Due to the transnational connectedness that is present among these corporations these entities are able to make strategies that help them in targeting the vulnerable customers especially when it comes to gambling. Unprecedented increases have been facilitated by these three factors especially in the gambling consumption and the profits that are associated with it because of which many of the nations have entered this unchartered gambling territory and the harmful consequences associated with it (see, Murray, 2012; also see, Valenzuela and Fisher, 2012).

Common goods had always been thought of as something that would help in securing equity and strengthening the community at local or regional level. However, today the need for the common good has surpassed the regional or the local requirements and it has become a global necessity. The reason behind this is the fact that now it has become clear to all that the security, health and well-being of the people can't be secured solely based on a locality or a region.

Today, the food, fresh water, stable climate and clean air might actually be affected by the people who probably live as far away as a continent.

This fact that our lives and activities have an impact on a far larger scale than we can imagine has yet to be grasped and understood by us properly because up until now we have failed miserably to understand this phenomenon and are suffering from its dire consequences therefore, it is crucial that we take notice of this phenomenon and start working on it within this generation.

In short it can be said that we haven't really made any particular commitment towards the safeguard of global common good even though we all are dependent on it for our own well-being and health. The global meetings that have been conducted recently to address the impact of changes in climate in Copenhagen (2009), Durban (2011) and Rio (2012) have been very unsatisfactory. No political motivation can yet be seen when it comes to taking notice of these issues and problems.

Considering the fact that the people who politically represent us can at most have the national interest at their hearts and the competition that exists between the national politicians with regards to their own nations or tribes, it can be seen that their only concern can be their own self-interest or the interest of the people whom they represent, but that too only in the short-run. These politicians still lack the understanding that the global issues at the end of the day also are a part of their own self-interest.

Therefore, efforts should be made not only by these politicians but by all of us to make the availability of clean air, river systems, fresh water and stable environment for all. Hence, considering the above aspect of common.