On a rainy Friday evening in April, dozens of people packed into a room at the Sydney gallery Firstdraft for Nelson Nghe’s first solo exhibition. “The government has asked the department to conduct detailed economic modelling on proposals,” the spokesperson said. Len Ainsworth didn’t respond to Background Briefing’s requests for an interview, nor did he respond to questions. “I do know that there are some family members who actually have a conscience on this issue and I think that’s very significant.”

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For sports betting and racing, the odds change depending on the team or horse, past performances and conditions on the day. InDaily South Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of country throughout South Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. But, he adds, views on gambling are shifting — even, it seems, within the Ainsworth family. “I have a large family of sons and am doing my best to encourage them to follow my example and embark on their own philanthropic endeavours.”

This system was recommended by the executive committee of the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform, a body convened after revelations that huge amounts of money were being laundered by criminals through poker machines in NSW. Tim Costello, a longtime campaigner for poker machine reform, says there are moral and ethical issues with major institutions taking donations from Len Ainsworth, because of the poker machine connection. “The person who goes and, shall we say, plays a poker machine and he has no money left to buy food or whatever is a fool. What do you do about fools?” Ainsworth said. For his family, Nghe says, the impact of poker machines was profound. “In this piece, I’ve got a work where it’s Len Ainsworth and me,” he says, holding up a collage image of the pair standing together in front of a bank of poker machines. Much of Nghe’s recent work takes the form of pictures of himself as a child, collaged into images that illustrate just how much poker machines shaped his life.

Ms Moeller said poker machines could also be more easily regulated than other online forms of gambling. “It’s completely unethical for the state government to continue to use poker machines to raise revenue when they have such a devastating impact on our community.” New research from Roy Morgan has shown that while sports and horse race betting have a high profile, it is poker machines that still command the majority of Australia’s gambling dollar. You can lose money faster in Australia than almost anywhere else in the world. Now pokies are being joined by online gambling sites that use social media techniques to keep punters glued. While Nghe seeks to understand the roots of his family and community’s struggle with poker machines, he holds onto hope that one day, they’ll want to understand his story too.

Australia has about 0.3% of the world’s population, but 2.5% of its gaming machines. If Japan’s pachinko parlours are excluded, Australia has 6% of the world’s machines. Gaming machines are designed to make money for the venue – not the player.

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• “From the ’70s,” she says, “Len was approached by licensed club associations of the other states, asking him for help to persuade their governments of the benefits of legalizing poker machines.”
• We pay our respects to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ancestors of this land, their spirits and their legacy.
• “The governments were really scrambling to find money,” Marsden says.

You may be thinking a big win will change things for you and your family, but your chances of winning are probably lower than you think.Being realistic about your chances of winning can help protect you from gambling harm. The panel’s industry members refused to endorse the account-based system, all citing the paucity of data yielded by the six-month trial of the cashless gaming card. Aristocrat withdrew from the trial early on, saying it wanted to focus on developing its own cashless technology. But along with it, about half of the 28 venues that were slated to participate also pulled out, because Aristocrat was providing their cashless technology. “I think an Ainsworth family member … speaking out might break through some of the impasses,” he says, pointing to industry bodies ClubsNSW and the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) as the main blockers of reform.

If you’ve lost control of your gambling, or someone you know is experiencing gambling harm, access free, confidential support. No personal data will be collected or retained by the government or pubs and clubs. A spokesperson for the NSW gaming minister David Harris said the government was “considering” the panel’s report and weighing community feedback on the proposed reforms. Once etched on the flashing faces of slot machines across the nation, Ainsworth’s name now graces the grand facades online casino live of Sydney’s most prestigious buildings.