Russell Crowe's gambling war

Jan 7, 2008, 12:30 GMT

10/29/2007 - Russell Crowe - "American Gangster" Industry Screening - Arrivals - The ArcLight Theater - Hollywood, CA, USA © GL / PR Photos

Russell Crowe is waging war against electronic gambling machines in Australian pubs.

The 'Gladiator' star - who was born in New Zealand but moved to Australia when he was four-years-old - believes the 200,000 machines, known as "pokies", are corrupting the country.

Russell, 43, has started 'A club with no pokies' group on network site Facebook and has had t-shirts printed with the slogan.

The 'A Beautiful Mind' star writes on the group's page: "We know if we are not to rely on poker machine revenue, we will have to find innovative ways of doing business.

"We have a vision for 'a club with no pokies', but to see this through we will need to build the strongest and largest fan base to support our club.

"This group is for anyone who believes the best way to act is to think about how your actions can improve the lives of people in your community.

"Thank you for your support, Russell Crowe."

Russell has already convinced the board of his Sydney rugby league club, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, last month to scrap the machines, even though they make a profit of Aus $1 million a year.

Government agencies claim there are over 200,000 machines - 21 per cent of the world's total - crammed into pubs and clubs across Australia, feeding the gambling addiction of around 300,000 people.

South Sydney Rabbitohs co-owner, millionaire businessman Peter Holmes, said: "Russell threw down the gauntlet and said 'Can we do this?' We put a proposal for a family-friendly club, an inclusive club."

(C) BANG Media International