Whittlesea’s gaming venues will not take part in a trial pre-commitment scheme for problem gamblers, despite being among the state’s most profitable pokies clubs.
The pre-commitment pilot, YourPlay, is being conducted at 14 venues that volunteered to be part of the trial.
Similarly, 100 gamblers put their hand up to play at participating venues, in suburbs including Abbotsford, Hampton, Caulfield South and Brunswick.
Punters lost about $3.7 million in the past financial year at one of the trial participants, the Bakers Arms Hotel in Abbotsford, according to Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Reform data.
By contrast, more than $21 million was lost at Epping Plaza Hotel, Victoria’s most lucrative pokies venue, during the same period.
Whittlesea mayor Ricky Kirkham said the council would have welcomed local gaming venues taking part in the trial.
The voluntary gambling limit scheme, now on trial, will be rolled out across all Victorian gaming venues from December 1.
It alerts players when they hit their nominated limit, giving them a chance to stop playing. They can, however, continue to play.
The state government ignored Star Weekly’s questions about why some venues were asked to volunteer to be part of the pilot, rather than nominating the high-grossing venues, which are already causing outcries because of their impacts in disadvantaged areas of the north.
Gaming Minister Jane Garrett said the state government shared concerns about problem gambling.
“YourPlay is just one of the tools people can use to help them stay in control of their gambling,” Ms Garrett said.
Whittlesea Community Connections chief executive Jemal Ahmet was sceptical about the effectiveness of the trial, and about the YourPlay scheme itself.
“If the [gaming] industry supports something, it’s because they’re fairly confident it won’t work,” he said. “For me, this is one massive public relations exercise.”
The three-month YourPlay trial ends at the end of next month.
