Opposition raises concerns over progress on Tasmania gaming machine reforms

Members of opposition parties claim the government may weaken mandatory pre-commitment card policies.

Australia.- Independent member of the Legislative Council, Meg Webb, has raised concerns about progress on a proposal for a mandatory pre-commitment card for electronic gaming machines in Tasmania. The comments come after it emerged that the government had commissioned a review to examine the proposed system.

Webb said: “It is over a week since the existence of this secretive Deloittes Access review of the pokies mandatory pre-commitment card policy was dragged out of the Liberal government in parliament and over a week of premier Rockliff ignoring calls for its terms of reference to be made public.”

“The government’s slippery behaviour regarding this secret report is deeply disturbing.  It is concerning that its existence had to be dragged out of them via parliament, and it is unacceptable we have to go back to parliament to secure further basic details such as what the reviewers are actually looking at, who they are talking to and its timeframe.”

Originally introduced to address the state’s high rates of gambling-related harm, the card system would allow users to restrict losses to AU$100 per day, AU$500 per month, and AU$5,000 per year. However, recent developments have raised concerns that the policy may be altered or watered down to allegedly benefit industry players.

See also: Australian online gambling credit card ban enters force

Meanwhile, the Tasmanian Greens have accused the government of backtracking on its commitment to gambling reform. Vica Bayley MP said: “Standing with the head of the pokies lobby, the premier told the media ‘a more measured approach’ was needed for pokies reform. Translating the politician-speak, Jeremy Rockliff is saying he is no longer going ahead with the critical measures his government had previously promised.

“The pokies lobbyists are winning yet again. Watering down the key pillars of the pokies pre-commitment card is a shameful decision that will mean more harm done to more Tasmanians. All of this simply to protect the profits of the pokies industry. This is a terrible capitulation from a premier who promised to lead a government with ‘heart’. We now see that pokies profits are more important to the Liberals than the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians.”

According to ABC, premier Jeremy Rockliff said on Monday (October 28): “I expect to make a decision in the not-too-distant future when it comes to all the available information in terms of cost of implementation, in terms of impact on business, particularly in regional areas, and when it comes to the increase in other technologies, such as facial recognition.”

Australian Greens introduce bill to ban gambling ads across all platforms

In unrelated news, a week ago, the Australian Greens party has submitted a bill to the senate calling for a ban on all gambling ads in the country. The bill would ban gambling ads on TV, radio, print and online.

According to a statement from the Greens, the move was prompted by “continued delays by the government” on introducing the total ban as recommended in a report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs led by Labor MP Peta Murphy.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens Spokesperson for Communications, said: “Time is up and the public is sick of the excuses and the delays. The Government clearly doesn’t have the guts to stand up to the bookies and ban gambling ads so, today, the Greens will.

“Problem gambling ruins lives and Australians lose more per capita to gambling than anywhere else in the world. The evidence from experts and the overwhelming majority of Australians (7/10) is clear: gambling ads cause significant harm and they must be banned, just like tobacco ads. The Prime Minister said recently that banning gambling ads was the ‘easy option’ to reduce gambling harm. We agree and we call on Labor and Liberal to back our bill.

“These ads are crucial to the bookies’ business model as they fuel the human misery of problem gambling. People are sick of having gambling ads rammed down their throats during family time when we are watching the footy. Labor and Liberal will have to stop hedging their bets when my bill comes for a vote in the Senate.”