The Wire

The Melbourne Cup: it’s an exiting time – filled with frocks, champagne, the rush of adrenalin and a chance to win big. In a broader scale, each year, Governments around Australia net an estimated 5.6 billion dollars of gambling related revenue. Amongst the jockeys’ colours and women’s dresses there is a darker side to gambling masked by social acceptability of having a punt on the cup. For many it would be simply un- Australian not to have a flutter but for others, the cost of gambling is just too high.