Motion Tabled – Deloitte Pokies Card Report vs Government’s ‘Measures’
The Hon. Meg Webb MLC tabled the following motion in the Legislative Council on Tuesday 17 March 2026:
(1) The Legislative Council notes:
(a) That the Deloitte Access Economics “Social and Economic Impact of Electronic Gaming Machine (EGM) Reform use in Tasmania” Report (published on Department of State Growth website 23 January 2026), found the previously planned mandatory poker machine player card with loss limits would:
(i) generate greater economic activity and increase jobs in Tasmania, with its central scenario indicating a net increase of Gross State Product of around $230 million and a net increase of over 200 jobs;
(ii) positively impact all industries, with the exception of the EGM sector, and all regions would have a positive or neutral economic impact;
(iii) significantly reduce the poker machine gambling expenditure and harm, especially for people at moderate to high risk of gambling harm; and
(iv) reduce the costs to government delivered and associated services, including in healthcare, mental health support, homelessness programs, policing, courts and corrections.
(b) The Tasmanian Government’s ‘harm minimisation’ measures for poker machine regulation announced on 23 January 2026, including:
(i) Gaming room closure period extended from 4 hours to 7 hours per day;
(ii) Introduction of a Ticket In-Ticket Out (TITO) system;
(iii) Setting of a new cap on statewide poker machine numbers;
(iv) Introduction of immediate self-exclusion available in venues, and facial recognition technology as part of the exclusion scheme;
(v) Allowing ATMs to be placed in gaming venues; and
(vi) Three Gaming Officers employed statewide by Hospitality Tasmania;
(c) Tasmanians’ annual poker machine losses for 2024-25 totalled $193,908,165, a decade-high level of losses; and
(2) The Legislative Council calls on the Tasmanian Government to confirm in relation to the announced measures of 23 January 2026, whether:
(a) modelling has been done on the social and economic impact of the Government announced measures; and
(b) whether, prior to the decision to adopt the measures, the Government obtained advice from the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission on the effectiveness of the announced measures to prevent or reduce harm from poker machines.
Note: this motion is scheduled for debate on Tuesday 24 March 2026.
