In New South Wales, local residents spent $7.76 billion on gambling, $5.25 billion of which was contributed by electronic gaming machines and pokies. The state government has recognised the immensity of the local gambling market, and has conducted an inquiry which aims to shed light on important issues like gambling addiction and support services.

“It is important that as a community we continue to look at how we can address problem gambling more effectively,” reads the Chairman’s forward. “The key focus for this inquiry was to look at how effective government policyhas been in preventing EGM related harms from occurring”.

The inquiry also focused on online gambling. It is still an emerging market, and it is important for the state government to take proactive steps to ensuring that online gambling does not cause any harm to local residents. Problem gambling treatment was also a consideration in this inquiry, as the committee determined how effective the state’s current counselling services are.

The committee has made a number of recommendations to help improve the local gambling market and reduce harm. Firstly, the committee wants the state to stop poker machine numbers from growing in areas where they will do the most harm. Another recommendation suggests that the state research poker machine design features and determine how games can be designed in order to be less addictive.

A very important recommendation suggests a review of current betting limits. At the moment, players in NSW can wager up to $10 a spin on poker machines while most states have reduced the limit to $5. A reduction could certainly help to improve problem gambling spending across the state. Another suggested limit is a restriction on ATM withdrawal at gambling venues and pokie clubs.

In total, there were 20 recommendations which the committee feel will improve the local gambling market. For more information, you can view the entire Inquiry at: http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/committee.nsf/0/d27f4d52ce6077f6ca257d3300824c4d/$FILE/Final%20Report.pdf

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.