This week, the Hastings District Council decided to uphold its sinking lid policy on the number of poker machines in the area. Despite requests from local gaming organizations to allow the addition of new pokies, the council decided that it would be best to aim to reduce the number of games over time. Council members took a vote on the issue, and decided by six to three that the policy would remain intact.
The sinking lid policy in the area demands that no new pokies are introduced into the community, especially when a venue closes or a game is removed. So, if a pokie club closes, new games are not allowed to be added in order to compensate for the loss of games. Over time, this will reduce the total number of pokies that are available in Hastings.
It is thought that sinking lid policies are highly effective in curbing problem gambling rates. When there were fewer pokies in an area, problem gamblers have less opportunities to feed their addictions. There is certainly a correlation between a city’s problem gambling rates and its number of pokie machines, and local politicians believe that a sinking lid policy would take advantage of this fact in order to benefit residents.
The council aims to take harm reduction even further by introducing facial recognition technology. If a self-excluded gambler attempted to sit down at a poker machine, they would be locked out. The game would cross-reference their image with a database of problem gamblers, and if a match occurred, they would be banned from playing.
The technology is currently in a trial phase, but the city council hopes that it will be a successful venture. It would be yet another strategy to reduce the potential harm that gambling causes.
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