HORSHAM Sports and Community Club believes new government harm minimisation measures will help curb problem gambling.
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The state government this week announced a range of measures, including: imposing a $500-a-day EFTPOS cash withdrawal limit at gaming venues; preventing people from cashing cheques; and preventing people buying cashless gaming tickets or credits with a credit card.
A ban on static betting advertising on public transport, roads and within 150 metres of schools is also part of the measures.
The changes are part of the Gambling Regulation Amendment (Gaming Machine Arrangements) Bill 2017.
Community club manager Glenn Carroll said he expected the harm minimisation measures would help to address problem gambling.
“This bill will no doubt be debated heavily by the industry,” he said.
“We don't want problem gamblers in our venue.
“We have a pre-commitment system at our venue – YourPlay – that is designed to help those who have issues with problem gambling set limits based around time and spend.”
YourPlay is a card-based personal gaming tracker that gives people a running total of the money and time they have spent.
Players can set the limit they would like to spend, and if the limit is reached a message is sent to their terminal urging them to consider their gambling habits. People can set the wording of these warnings.
Victorian Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz said the government would also cap pokie numbers at 105 for every venue across the state for the next 25 years.
She said the government also planned to ban any encouragement of players receiving winnings in the form of cashless gaming tickets or credits.
“This is about protecting people and helping those who choose to gamble stick to their limits,” she said.
ATMs are already banned in pubs and clubs that offer pokie machines.
However gamers in every state except Tasmania have been able to make as many withdrawals as they like using a venue's EFTPOS machines.