Clubs ACT warn about poker machines bet limits

The head of Clubs ACT said an excessive reduction of the betting limit could end up being counterproductive.

Australia.- Betting machines’ betting limits are one of the main topics addressed by problem gambling associations and such changes are set to be enforced in the UK. However, while Australia’s Canberra Gambling Harm Reduction Alliance urged the government to reduce the maximum bet limit, the head of Clubs ACT has warned about how counterproductive an excessive regulation may end up being.

According to Gwyn Rees, Clubs ACT CEO, if the maximum bet limit ends up being too high it could damage revenue from poker machines and actually just send problem gamblers over to Queanbeyan clubs. The group asserted that past falls in revenue in the ACT have coincided with rises in revenue at clubs in Queanbeyan.

The Canberra Gambling Harm Reduction Alliance had urged the government to reduce the maximum bet limit in the ACT from €6,2 to €0,62. The group issued a report through Monash University gambling expert Dr Charles Livingstone, who found poker machine regulations and tax system to be the most law regime in the country, despite a progressive tax scale, which generated proposals to set greater reforms in the territory.