Losses to Tasmanian poker machines in August revealed
Matt Maloney | Examiner and Advocate Newspapers | September 29, 2020
Poker machine losses in Launceston reached $1.79 million.
Data released by Treasury showed losses in the city the second highest out of all the state’s municipalities at $1.79 million.
There was $18.5 million lost to the machines statewide over August.
This was a 20-per-cent increase on what was lost in August 2019.
The inflated number of poker machine losses has again brought into question the government’s management of harm minimisation and the policy of self-exclusion.
This is where a person nominates to be banned from a venue and placed on a register on a list of venues.
The ban can last for three years and is not able to be revoked in its first six months.
Nelson independence MLC Meg Webb said the self-exclusion system was flawed and limited in its effectiveness as it is not rigorously enforced.
She said poker machine venues were prolific in the community and that anecdotally self-excluded gamblers reported easy access to gaming rooms, often through entrances out of view of venue staff.
“There is a lot of opportunity for the system to fail,” Ms Webb said.
She said it seemed rare for a venue to be held to account for failing in its self-exclusion obligations and venues perhaps needed to face greater consequences for non-compliance.
“If venues can explicitly check IDs to ensure underage people are not on the premises, why are they not expected to check IDs to ensure that those in gaming areas are not people who have self-excluded?” Ms Webb said.
Finance Minister Michael Ferguson said the state’s harminisation framework was regarded as one of the best in the country.
He said the exclusion scheme was closely policed by the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission.
According to the 2018-19 Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission annual report, no disciplinary actions were taken against venues for self-exclusion breashes.
Two venues received displinary actions for not having appropriate exclusion scheme records.
Matt Maloney – Examiner and Advocate 29 Sept 2020
