The Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA), New South Wales’ (NSW) gaming regulator, has announced that it is considering a new crackdown on operating hours for poker machines in the state following the publication of a new study that outlines the correlation between problem gambling and late-night play.
Conducted by Roy Morgan Research and funded by the NSW government, the research was dubbed, “Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Late Night Play on EGM Player Behaviors.”
The main takeaway from the study was that problem gambling behavior and its related harms spiked significantly during late night and early morning hours. Additionally, approximately two-thirds of all individuals playing between the hours of 2 a.m. and 8 a.m. were said to exhibit signs of problem behavior.
One of the main objectives of the study is to ascertain whether “venue closing times could be used as a harm minimization strategy for EGM gamblers at risk of problem gambling,” and the ILGA has since said that it is considering a midnight cutoff.
In a statement, ILGA Chair Caroline Lamb said that the agency “will make use of the study’s conclusions to inform future decisions.”
“ILGA has implemented a number of measures to minimize gambling harm and address concerns about applications that increase the availability of gaming machines after midnight,” Lamb continued. “We have developed Guideline 16 to help gaming venues reduce gambling harm after midnight and foster the responsible conduct of gambling.”
“This includes a preference that all gaming related applications are required to be accompanied by a Gaming Plan of Management that contains a raft of measures designed to support licensees to minimize gambling relating harm in venues. ILGA also imposes license conditions on gaming-related applications to mitigate risk of gambling-related harm,” Lamb concluded.
