"A business model that relies on revenue from problem gambling is a broken business model. We want to support clubs and our community to move away from poker machines and really take problem gambling seriously, and this package is a crucial step in that process," Greens spokesperson for Gaming Harm Reform Shane Rattenbury said today.
This scheme offers a range of monetary and offsets incentives to encourage voluntary surrender, but also sets a deadline for compulsory surrender if required.
Since the inclusion of this commitment in the Parliamentary Agreement, the Government has been engaging with clubs, community groups and people with lived experience to develop a pathway to achieve that goal.
The Bill also proposes changes to the Community Contributions Scheme. While modest in scope, the Greens support these efforts to broaden the Scheme to reach more community groups. The Bill will also improve enforcement and transparency, including higher financial penalties for disciplinary action-moves that the Greens also support.
The Greens today also reaffirmed a commitment to ongoing gaming harm reform.
"As we said at the election, the Greens support the Productivity Commission's recommendations for a suite of harm minimisation measures, including mandatory pre-commitment and $1 maximum bet limits. We will continue to strongly advocate for these important measures as part of a broader package of reform design to curb the damaging effects of gambling harm in our community," Mr Rattenbury added.
The latest research shows the ACT as having the second highest gaming machine density in Australia (14.8 per 1,000 adults). In 2015-16, real expenditure from poker machine gambling in the ACT was $168.5 million, accounting for 73% of all gambling expenditure in the Territory. Estimates suggest the average user spends an average of $2,667 per year on pokies.
Tuesday 27 November 2018
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