Zoe Moffatt
The state government has introduced sweeping new gambling reforms, following council campaigns for change.
The reforms were announced on July 16, by Premier Daniel Andrews and Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Melissa Horne, and include load up limits, carded play requirements and mandatory closure periods.
Hume mayor Joseph Haweil spearheaded the campaign for reforms around the use of Electronic Gaming Machines (EGM) and operating hours, following more than $104 million lost to gambling in Hume in 2021-22.
“This welcome announcement is proof of the power of strong, united voices in an issue that affects the entire country,” Cr Haweil said.
“The local government sector has been at the forefront of gambling harm minimisation and reform advocacy for many years having seen the negative impact of poker machines throughout communities.
“This is a step in the right direction… [and] the announced measures will help protect the financial and emotional wellbeing of our community and reduce opportunities for harm.”
The reforms will introduce carded play with a load up limit of $100, down from the current limit of $1000.
Mandatory closure periods will be enforced for all gaming machine areas in a venue, except Crown Casino, between 4am and 10am by the middle of 2024.
The spin rate of all new EGMs will also be slowed to a rate of three seconds per game to limit the amount of money that can be lost.
With around $7 billion lost to gambling annually in Victoria, Mr Andrews said the reforms will help people turn their life around.
“These reforms will provide the strongest gambling harm preventions and anti-money laundering measures in Australia,” he said.
“We owe it to all Victorians to take this stance and help those experiencing harm turn their lives around.”
With Hume ranked as the fifth highest local government area for EGM losses in Victoria in 2022, Cr Haweil said he welcomes the reforms.
“We are extremely grateful for this important decision… and we thank [the government] for listening to our concerns and putting Victoria at the forefront of reform efforts.”
Whittlesea chief executive Craig Lloyd said he welcomes the EGM reforms.
“Council has a longstanding position on advocating for gambling harm minimisation measures including reducing the operating hours of gaming venues and capping gaming machine numbers,” he said.
“We are also currently advocating for an expansion of the ‘libraries after dark’ program locally as a gambling harm prevention initiative.
“Whittlesea is ranked sixth in Victoria for money lost on poker machines, with residents losing more than $97.5 million through gaming machines in the 2021-22 financial year. We hope these reforms will help limit the harm gambling is causing in our community.”
