A leading poker machine researcher has accused the Victorian government of excluding the Crown casino from a review of how regulations could be tightened to better protect problem gamblers.
On Thursday the state government called for community and gambling industry feedback as part of a review of existing regulations, including restrictions on 24-hour gaming, cash withdrawal limits, limits on note acceptors, auto-play facilities, and spin rates and maximum bet limits for gaming machines.
But many of the measures under review do not apply to the Melbourne casino, said Charles Livingstone, a leading researcher on the impact of gambling on public health from Monash University.
“Casinos have ATMs in their lobbies, whereas pubs and clubs can’t do that any more,” he said. “By and large casinos haven’t been bound by many of the measures aimed at pubs and clubs. Loyalty cards in casinos allow unrestricted maximum bets. The pre-commitment system [restrictions on gaming machine expenditure] is voluntary and unlikely to be taken up by those experiencing harm.”
He believes there should be a mandatory pre-commitment system in casinos, and said the review needed to be extended to look at poker machine design and the way that encourages people to become hooked.
“The review also needs to look at the processes around electronic gaming machine approval,” he said. “This is an inflexible and ill-defined process with no guidelines, and is very industry friendly, with 94% of applications approved between 2007 and 2014.
“Leaving that out will annoy the local governments, who want it changed.”
Livingstone said while the review was encouraging, he feared the government would be “bombarded” with submissions from the industry.
Livingstone is also sceptical about the timing of the release of the consultation paper, with submissions to the review closing on 16 January.
“It’s odd that they’re doing it over the silly season,” he said. “Maybe they want it to slip under the radar? Industry, of course, will be well prepared.”
But the minister for gaming and liquor regulation, Marlene Kairouz, said the review was “long overdue” and a genuine attempt to rein in the harms caused by problem gambling and addiction.
“We can’t ignore the harm caused by gaming machines,” Kairouz said. “We’re seeking the right balance between protecting problem gamblers and ensuring the current rules are up to date.”
An estimated 300,000 people across the state are affected by someone else’s gambling. In October, law firm Maurice Blackburn announced it would use Australian consumer laws to argue that poker machine operators are engaging in deceptive and misleading conduct. The case is expected to be brought before the supreme court early next year.
