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The Independent Member for Denison, Andrew Wilkie, has written to every household in Glenorchy urging the community to ramp up its fight against poker machines, and in particular to voice its concerns about the 20 additional machines proposed for the CBD.

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Mr Wilkie will be available to discuss the 21,859 letters to be delivered next week to every house in the Glenorchy municipality. He’ll also call on the State Government to apply a moratorium to all new applications for poker machines – including this one – until it introduces promised new laws that include a public interest test.

The public only has until Tuesday 18 October to respond to an application to install 20 new poker machines in the Paddy Wagon Irish Pub in Glenorchy, a city that already suffers the highest pokies losses of anywhere in the State.

“The Glenorchy community is losing close to $2 million a month on the pokies, almost half of which is gouged from gambling addicts,” Mr Wilkie said. “The social and economic cost of this is enormous.

“The licensee of the new Irish pub in the former Glenorchy police station has applied to operate poker machines in the venue. In my opinion this is a very bad idea. The last thing Glenorchy needs is more poker machines.”

Mr Wilkie is urging people who don’t want more poker machines in Glenorchy to write to the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission, the Premier and other state parliamentarians.

Mr Wilkie said the Government must apply a moratorium to all new applications for poker machines until it finalised the public interest test.

“This application is supposed to be the first test of the public interest provision but we don’t even know what this involves,” Mr Wilkie said.

“What is in this public interest test? Applying laws retrospectively is putting the cart before the horse and could potentially open the state up to compensation claims. In the interest of good public policy the Government must write the public interest test first. You can’t protect the public interest retrospectively and undo the harm of poker machine addiction. Once the harm is done, it’s done.”

Mr Wilkie said it was already clear installing more poker machines in the community would not pass any credible public interest test.

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“Polling shows four in five Tasmanians want poker machines reduced in number or removed entirely from pubs and clubs,’’ he said. “It was clearly a mistake 20 years ago to allow poker machines into the pubs and clubs because the evidence shows that increasing accessibility to gambling increases the likelihood of problems.

“According to the Tasmanian Government’s own figures employment in pubs and clubs fell after the introduction of poker machines. And while yes, the State Government does collect some $50 million in taxes and fees from the pokies, its 2011 Social and Economic Impact Study of Gambling in Tasmania puts the social and economic costs of problem gambling – including prison costs, bankruptcy, depression, violence and productivity loss – at up to $144 million every year.”

A copy of letter to Glenorchy residents is attached.

Gambling giant Federal Group has demanded Tasmanian pub owners continue paying rent on leased poker machines, even while hoteliers have been forced to close due to coronavirus — a move blasted by Senator Jacqui Lambie as 'trying to make a quid' during a 'wartime scenario'.

Federal subsidiary Network Gaming wrote to Tasmanian poker machine leaseholders on Monday to say that while Keno charges would be dropped, it would continue to charge rent on electronic gaming machines 'due to [an] ongoing commitment to pay these lease agreements with banks'.

One independent hotelier, who asked to remain anonymous, said they were furious over being expected to pay out about $1,500 per week for machines they could not use in a pub they could not open.

'We've been propping them up for a decent amount of time now and if they don't have the cash reserves or the relationship with their banks for loan relief … I'm not comfortable propping them up this time,' the pub owner said.

'Why should we be forced to foot the bill for loans that they've arranged for machines that they've supplied, that they have the monopoly for and that they give access only to what they choose?'

Network Gaming, which monitors and maintains Tasmanian poker machines, will close as part of Federal Group complying with government restrictions to address the coronavirus crisis.

On Monday, Federal announced it was standing down about 1,500 employees and will close its community-based pubs and casino operations, as part of the shutdown.

Independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie described Federal's decision to keep charging rent on pokies as 'shameful'.

'How appalling that hotels have just been whacked with closure because of the virus … we are in a wartime scenario,' Senator Lambie said, adding that Federal was 'still trying to make a quid'.

'They don't need that bloody money,' she added.

Hotel operators call conduct 'disgusting'

Jen Billing from the Exeter Hotel told ABC Radio Hobart she had received the letter about having to keep paying rent.

'[It's] $1200 a week … we're not getting any income for that … we've had to put everyone off … it's disgusting,' she said.

She questioned why Federal Group was not providing any support for impacted venues.

'These are the only people who are not, and really are probably the only ones who can afford it,' she said.

Mark Cleary, owner of The Heemskirk in Zeehan, has also been asked to continue paying rent on his poker machines.

The former Federal Group employee said he was sure the company found it a tough decision.

'If you get a car under a personal loan and it blows up and you can't afford to fix it, the banks won't say 'don't worry' — it's a risk you take,' Mr Cleary said.

'I'm sure as soon as they can get them back up and running they will.'

In a statement, Federal Group spokesman Daniel Hanna said the machines provided to venues were leased via a bank, and that the group was meeting urgently with the bank on Tuesday to seek relief to pass on to venues.

'The Senator could've asked us first and we would've said what we were doing. Now is time for leadership,' he added.

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Last week, Federal said it would adopt a similar stance to Melbourne's Crown Casino, which was granted an exemption to Victoria's measures to enforce social distancing — announcing it would switch off every second poker machine in its gaming lounges to assist in patrons adhering to the advice.

However, following a toughening up of the measures to address the coronavirus outbreak nationally, the exemption on casinos was withdrawn.

Documents filed with the Australian Securities Investment last year showed Federal Group enjoyed an after-tax profit of $17 million last financial year, paying its owners, the Farrell family, a $12.5 million dividend.