By Charlene Gatt
MARIBYRNONG City Council has called on the State Government to introduce spending limits and a smart card system for poker machines to deter gamblers from over-spending.
The council, which is part of the Victorian Local Governance Association’s working group on gambling, wants the roll out of a smart card with spending limits which allow punters to predetermine how much they spend.
It also wants the State Government to take the socio-economic needs of a suburb into account when reviewing planning applications for new and existing poker machine venues and the end of incentives for regular customers.
“A high spending share by problem gamblers weakens the incentives for venues to manage problem gamblers because they provide a significant source of revenue,” the council’s submission to the Office of Gaming and Racing reads.
“This is particularly the case for venues such as clubs that rely on revenue collected from EGMs (electronic gaming machines) as an important source of funding for other community activities.
“A smart card system will allow EGM players to nominate the amount of money they’re willing to gamble, and once they reach that limit, they can no longer use the machine.”
Maribyrnong has seen a steady increase in poker machine expenditure since their introduction in 1991, reaching a high of $64 million over the 2001-02 financial year.
Since 2002-03, the losses have averaged $58 million a year, with more than $51.29 million poured into City of Maribyrnong poker machines during 2010.
