Photo © 2012 The Project

Tonight on The Project, we shield our eyes from the bright flashing lights, to take a good hard look at the pokies.

Australians lose $12 billion a year playing the pokies, with 40 per cent of that coming from problem gamblers (that’s $4.8 billion, in case you were trying to work that our in your head).

While the majority of Aussies want to see serious reform, anti-pokies groups say pressure from the poker machine industry has led to a watered down trial solution that is designed to fail.

So, is it possible to have meaningful reform, such as national $1 limits or pre-commitment laws, or are our government bodies, clubs and community groups just too addicted to the revenue they earn from pokie losses to have the desire or even ability to do anything about it?