A proposal that would limit the amount players can wager and lose on Australian poker machines is stalled, but Parliament has prioritized problem gambling when it reconvenes.
In a joint statement, Senator Nick Xenophon and Tasmanian independent MP Andrew Wilkie said: “Clubs Australia, with the support of governments, has introduced a range of evidence-based, cost-effective, and targeted solutions to help address problem gambling, such as the world-first online Multi-Venue Self-Exclusion system, club chaplaincy, and counseling services.”
Xenophon and Wilkie want clubs and pubs to limit maximum bets on poker slots to $1 and player losses to no more than $120 per hour. They also want to ban all gaming advertising during G-rated television programs, including sports broadcasts.
Lobbyist Clubs Australia opposes the maximum-bet proposal, saying it would cost about $1.5 billion in revenues, while doing nothing to help problem bettors.
Other opponents say the proposed law would force local businesses to invest in costly technology to restrict their gaming machines to $1 bets and no more than $120 in losses per hour.
Meanwhile, Human Services Minister Alan Tudge said Parliament will take up several measures designed to combat problem gambling and give them priority status.
“The Turnbull Government is implementing the most significant package of reforms ever put in place by an Australian government to combat problem gambling,” Tudge said in a statement.
