Earlier this month, it was announced that Julie Gillard has backed out of her promise to implement Andrew Wilkie’s pokie reform this year. It seemed to be a long time coming, since Gillard has allowed for the legislation to be delayed numerous times. But, the legislation is not completely dead – Gillard has proposed some other changes to the current poker machine industry in Australia.

"To secure reform, we need to take a different approach," she says. Now, the government has decided to continue the trial of the precommitment technology. However, there is no way that the technology would be implemented this year, as Wilkie would have hoped. Instead, Gillard states that the earliest the country would see gambling reform is 2016 – and that is if the trial is successful.

As promised, Andrew Wilkie has withdrawn his support for Gillard, insulted by her change of face. Senator Nick Xenophon has called Gillard decision a “gross breach of trust”, and believes that her government will lose a great deal of credibility over the situation.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.