ACT puts forward sweep of gambling law changes

In short

The ACT will transition to cashless gaming as part of the Labor government's bid to tackle gambling harm.

Also in the suite of changes, are compulsory 15-minute breaks for continuous gamers, and reducing the number of poker machines. But the government isn't proposing mandatory bet limits, and bans on individuals using poker machines will be based on self-exclusion.

What's next?

The government plans to establish a committee to help businesses transition.

The ACT government will introduce what it describes as "the single largest package of reform in Australia" to try and reduce harm caused by poker machines.

The changes include establishing mandatory account-based cashless gaming across all venues, bans on EFTPOS and ATM withdrawals for pokies in venues, and reducing the time that gaming machines can operate across a week by 15 hours.

For anyone to play the pokies in the ACT, they will need to have an account with a venue and an accompanying player account card.

As part of that required account, a player will have to set a maximum loss limit.

All clubs will also be required to enforce patrons to take a 15-minute break after every hour of continuous play on a poker machine.

The ACT Minister for Gaming Reform Marisa Paterson said the changes are aimed at making long-lasting improvements.

"I've worked in the space of gambling policy in Australia for 20 years," she said.

"What we're doing is looking at how gambling harm impacts in the short term. So when people are actually sitting at a machine, and what we can do to minimise the harm there, but also the long term."

But the government will not introduce a central monitoring system (CMS) as part of the cashless gaming set-up, that would link all gaming venues across the ACT.

Dr Paterson said the cost and the relatively smaller total number of machines in the ACT — compared to other jurisdictions — would make a CMS unachievable.

"A provider wouldn't necessarily provide [the CMS] for a continued loss of numbers of machines," she explained.

"So really, it was either we go down the path of getting machines out of the territory or we invest heavily.

"And from ACT Labor's perspective, we want to see a pathway to reduce the numbers of machines significantly."

Reducing total pokie numbers

To reduce the number of pokies, the government will establish a schedule to cut poker machines across the ACT to 1,000 by 2045, with a mandated reduction of 500 machines every four years.

It's the second time the government has tried to introduce this policy — ACT Labor withdrew its own legislative amendments in the last sitting week prior to the 2024 ACT election, concerned that the legislation would not pass the Assembly.

This time, Dr Paterson said she was determined the schedule would be written into law.

"I'm very glad that we are at the point today," she said.

"We took that policy to the [2024] election and basically said to the people of Canberra: this is what we're intending.

"And now we're in a position to be able to legislate it."

Changes to existing self-exclusion

The existing self-exclusion scheme will be overhauled and become a centrally managed system in the ACT.

It will shift from the currently somewhat cumbersome paper process to what the government describes as a simpler online application.

Dr Paterson said that represented a significant change to how things currently operated.

"Some of the outcomes that we've seen through the ACAT (ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal) process with the Hellenic Club has seen that our legislation has been really not fit-for-purpose and not clear," she said.

"And so the reform that I'm bringing to the Assembly will really completely shift the self-exclusion scheme as we know it to a legislated scheme."

Bet limits, forced exclusion off the table

Mandatory bet limits and enforced exclusion from gaming areas within venues are not measures that are being incorporated as part of the ACT government's changes.

This is despite some anti-harm advocates calling for such restrictions in previous years.

When asked by the ABC why the government would not introduce these measures, Dr Paterson answered that existing equipment and technology limited the ability for authorities to apply mandatory bet limits or enforced pokie machine bans for individuals.

"So this is the advice that I've received, that this is where the technology is and what we're limited to," she said.

"We will see mandatory pre-commitment. We will see a mandatory activity statement. So people will be able to understand how much they've actually put into a machine or lost."

System for clubs to seek different incomes

Previously when the government had introduced measures to reduce gaming harm, venues had asked the government to provide options to make up the shortfall in pokie revenue.

Dr Paterson said the government would establish a "transition committee" to work through an inquiry report that the changes were based upon.

Part of the committee's brief would be to help clubs establish other ways of using their land to increase income.

"There will be some key reforms to rezoning issues, recognising some of the issues that we've heard around lease variation charges, and the rates issues that clubs pay when they want to develop their land," Dr Paterson said.

"For example, housing, aged care facilities, that type of thing on the land. But I think the key message to the community is, with no sort of loss of community facility as well."

Series of 'go-live' dates

The package of changes will be introduced into the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

While the majority of the changes rely on the Assembly voting the bill through, a couple will come into effect soon.

Dr Paterson will write the ban on EFTPOS withdrawals into law in October which will become effective immediately, while the reduction in gaming machine operating hours will take effect on the July 1, 2027.

The rest will be up to how the 25 Members of the Assembly vote on the bill, which Dr Paterson hopes will be a 'yes'.

"I would hope so," she said.

"I've been having discussions with the crossbench and I hope that they would really support the objectives of this legislation."