Last year, poker machine losses surged past the $2.3b mark, up almost 10% - or $141m - on the previous year. This growth occurred despite the industry introducing its own Responsible Code of Practice in 1997 and despite the Bracks Labor government introducing a range of new socially responsible gaming policies over the past two and a half years. Breaking a nasty habit? Gaming Policy and Politics in the State of Victoria looks at the various actors involved in the provision and use of poker machines, and how and why they combine to ensure that turnover growth and, by implication, growth in losses are the norm.