A victory for community groups as Eureka commits to stop pokie grants to horse racing

The Eureka Trust has resolved to stop giving pokie money to horse racing stakes or promotion.

Eureka has made a number of substantial donations to horse racing over the past few years which the Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF) believes was in direct violation of its own Trust Deed.

“We were preparing to launch proceedings against the Eureka Trustees for breaching their own Trust Deed but Eureka has informed us that they will no longer donate to horse racing,” Problem Gambling Foundation CEO Graeme Ramsey said.

“While critical of donations to horse racing in the past, we congratulate Eureka for making a commitment to stop pokie grants to horse racing from now on.”

“We believe this decision is an admission that previous grants to horse racing have been in violation of their Trust Deed. We could still pursue legal action for past liability but have achieved what we wanted. This means that grassroots sports and community groups will get more money in the future,” Graeme Ramsey said.

“All other Pokie Trusts with charitable Trust Deeds should immediately follow suit and stop grants to horse racing”.

Graeme Ramsey said the Problem Gambling Foundation would also like Central Government to look at whether pokie trusts are the most efficient or transparent method of distributing hundreds of millions of pokie losses back to the community.

“Every day we see the harm caused by pokie machine gambling - child neglect, crime, desperation. The community deserves to be getting as much charitable funding as possible given this high social cost, especially during a recession when charitable groups are under enormous pressure. Instead this money is currently subsidizing an`ther form of gambling," he said.

ENDS

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