ACCC asked to probe club pokies ads

The consumer watchdog has been asked to ban what gambling reformers say are "misleading" ads published by the clubs industry to attack proposed limits on poker machines.

The industry has launched a $20 million advertising and public relations campaign to overturn a move by the federal government to have pokie players sign up for electronic cards which can put a cap on losses.

Labor has promised to introduce the mandatory pre-commitment scheme by 2014 as part of an agreement with Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie to support it in minority government.

Mr Wilkie has threatened to withdraw his parliamentary support for the government if parliament has not passed laws backing the scheme by May 2012.

The Australian Hotels Association and Clubs Australia say in the ads the scheme amounts to a "licence just so you can have a $5 punt" and that there will be a "loss of freedom and privacy".

Independent senator and gambling reform campaigner Nick Xenophon has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to check whether the ads break consumer law.

"The claims are misleading and imply that the proposed gambling reforms are going to impinge on people's rights," Senator Xenophon said.

"These reforms are about trying to address problem gambling and, through a pre-commitment scheme, giving people the option to choose how much they're willing to lose on the pokies."

Senator Xenophon said the reforms would not impact on recreational players and there were no plans for a central database and player tracking, as claimed by the industry.

The clubs argue they make a significant contribution to local community and sporting groups and would be badly affected by the proposed changes, for little benefit for problem gamblers.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she's committed to delivering gambling reform this term, to stop the industry profiting from "human misery".

"I come from a part of Melbourne where we know what it's like to see people who put so much money into poker machines that they break the family budget, they can't feed the kids, they end up with their houses being repossessed by the bank," the prime minister told reporters in Canberra.

"People like to have a bet but I don't think they like to see their fellow Australians suffer, so it's the right thing to have an appropriate package to tackle problem gambling."

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott queried whether the extra red tape for clubs would deliver the promised benefits.

"The last thing I want to see is people putting their livelihood through poker machines, but we've got to address this in ways that don't further damage the social fabric," Mr Abbott said.

"Clubs, and to a lesser extent pubs, are an important part of that social fabric."

Senator Xenophon has launched his own website, www.itsabigfatlie.com.au, and a Facebook page to counter the clubs' campaign.