( dpa ) - Australia's anti-gambling lobby was up in arms Thursday after the state government in Victoria approved an application to allow betting through a television remote control.
"There will be more and more problem gamblers as a result of this measure," Member of Parliament-elect Nick Xenophon said. "This sort of measure means that you'll be able to lose your home without ever actually having to leave it."
Victoria is the first state in Australia to approve gambling over the medium of television.
The gambling industry has an annual turnover of 15 billion Australian dollars (13 billion US dollars). There are 130,000 problem gamblers who lose on average 12,000 dollars a year.