The Melbourne Age
Victorian gamblers will be forced to set binding limits on daily poker machine losses while venues will be made to shut their gaming operations for at least six hours a day under reforms promised by the state government to stem soaring losses.
Premier Daniel Andrews claimed the overhaul would give Victoria the toughest gambling and anti-money laundering measures in Australia, and arguably the world, although he did not put a time frame on when most of the reforms would be implemented.
“These machines are the cause of terrible harm,” he said. “Indeed, all of us pay the price … more than $7 billion a year.”
Under the changes, announced on Sunday, gaming venues will be required to introduce a mandatory pre-commitment system for all of Victoria’s poker machines, forcing all players to use a card to sign in and set loss limits, among other things.
So-called “load limits” – the maximum amount of money a player can feed into a poker machine at any one time – will be cut from $1000 to $100 under the changes.
By mid next year, mandatory closure periods between 4am and 10am will be enforced for gaming machine areas in all venues except Crown casino. The move follows concerns that venues have set up staggered opening hours, co-ordinating with other venues and allowing patrons to shift to other places to keep gambling.
The government has also announced plans to lower the “spin rate” on poker machines, from the current 2.1 seconds per game to three seconds, effectively slowing the pace of gaming to limit loses.
The measures come after years of warnings about the harm caused by poker machines, and growing alarm about the financial and social damage inflicted by soaring loses, particularly in Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
But there are few details about how or when the new system will be implemented. On Sunday, Andrews suggested it could take time, given the complexity of the changes. He said the measures would be introduced subject to “thorough consultation” with the industry through a working group.
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