Professor Peter Adams is posing that question as a way to get people thinking about how the community sector is being propped up by the proceeds of gambling. Once gambling was commercialised it literally became big business - some $2 billion is generated from casinos, pokies and Lotto in New Zealand. Professor Adams is associate director for the Centre for Addiction Research at the University of Auckland, and says we need to find another way to fund schools, charities, sports and cultural organisations that's not profiting off people's misery.
Professor Adams will be giving a lecture on this topic as part of the University of Auckland's Winter Lecture Series. You can find out more here.
