Melissa Horne Promise: Victoria is at the center of an argument in Australia about how to regulate poker machines. The clubs in Victoria are working hard to improve the self-exclusion program, which helps people with gambling problems avoid poker machines.
Earlier this year, Melissa Horne said she would make poker machine rules. Suggested gambling reforms include:
- Limiting how much a player can lose.
- Requiring a pre-commitment.
- Forcing players to sign up for cards and play.
The state is thinking about how these changes will work in detail and has chosen to look at self-exclusion again. Problem players need self-exclusion records more than anything else. They have choices for self-blocking in gaming areas to keep people from being tempted by poker machines.
In the last five years, the rules for these registers have mostly stayed the same, which has led people who don’t play games to call for significant changes. The CCV and the Australian Hotels Association keep records as part of the system. Each register serves the customers of a different bar or club.
Under this method, a person can be banned from up to 20 places by relying on the memory of the staff. There are more complex ways to keep yourself from gaming everywhere with just one app. Other kinds of gaming, like betting at the TAB, online, and at the Crown casino, are kept track of separately.
CCV wants the state government to change the plan to stop harmful games. Their goal is to get more money for their self-exclusion program, which is currently supported by member fees.
CEO of CCV Andrew Lloyd says that the method needs to be updated immediately. He says that South Australia is an excellent example of how face recognition technology can be used to help people. Lloyd wants pubs, clubs, casinos, the TAB, and BetStop to be a part of his plan to stop people from playing online.
Lloyd focuses on stopping trauma from happening more than once and making things easier for everyone. He says that clubs know they have a social responsibility in this area.
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Lloyd is against too many rules for businesses. Instead, he wants to spend more money on education, especially for kids in primary school. Even though more and more people are gaming online, different safety measures are in place. Even though the staff has been trained to look for signs of problem gambling, this is still true.
Should player cards be a big part of making it easier for people to stop playing poker on their own? Using cards to limit access to machines could eliminate the need for staff to determine who is listed, but upgrading the technology could cost money.
The government is looking into other ways to stop people from gaming, like the brief orders that prevent people from playing for up to 24 hours at Crown.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform leader, Carol Bennett, is happy about these possible changes. She says companies often need help to reach their goals when rules and self-regulation are used together. Bennett thinks that restoring trust is very important for people with game addiction.
BetStop has worked well as an exclusion method. Bennett wants to be able to cover all kinds of games. This would replace the state registers with a national plan.
During the reform process, a government spokesman said that they would work closely with places such as clubs. People say that these changes will have a significant effect on games.
A poll by Resolve Political Monitor for The Age reveals that 57% of Victorians support the state’s policy changes, with only 10% in disagreement. This info highlights the importance of these changes in addressing poker machine gambling issues in Victoria.