The Australia Capital Territory government in Canberra announced instead of totally prohibiting gamblers at club casinos from using eftpos (electronic funds transfer at point-of-sale machines), withdrawals will be limited to 0 per transaction, effective September 1. There will be no limit on the number of times gamblers can get cash from the machines but clubs may have only one eftpos machine or terminal. Gamblers still can get 0 a day at ATM machines.
Canberra Community Clubs Chairman Athol Chalmers said the $200-per-transaction compromise struck a “good balance” between the impact on gamblers, casinos and other patrons. “The evidence does show that setting those sorts of limits causes people to go out of the gaming machine room to go and get more cash and it’s an opportunity to reflect on, do I really want to go and get more money. Yes, they can keep going back and getting more, but there’s a break. They can’t just go and get $1,000,” Chalmers said. He added a total ban would have been “disproportionate to the issue.”
ACT Gaming Minister Gordon Ramsay noted the compromise position also considers the safety of people who otherwise would leave a casino to withdraw large amounts of cash at outside ATMs. He added although there was “no single silver bullet,” the new rules would make overspending less likely.
The cash-machine changes were triggered when Professor Laurie Brown revealed she had lost up to $230,000 on poker machines in Raiders clubs. She stated a $200 withdrawal limit at eftpos terminals would have lowered her losses significantly, since on some nights she said withdrew $3,000 or more in amounts of $400-$600 at a time. “As an addicted gambler I don’t have the internal capacities and controls to stop gambling, so I need this external influence. That would have got me to think about what I was doing,” Brown said.
