In South Australia, local politicians have drawn up a new plan for poker machine regulation. The goal is to reduce the overall number of pokies and reduce the potential harm that they can cause, but not everyone is on board with the plan. Uniting Communities has recently spoken out against the reform, and is requesting that more is done in order to reduce problem gambling rates.
In 2004, South Australian politicians set a goal to remove 3000 pokies from the community. Since then, they have removed all but 775 and they continue to take their time meeting this goal. Uniting Communities believes that the local government should set a deadline for getting rid of the remaining pokies before enacting its new pokie reform legislation.
"Ten years on from the time the decision was made by Parliament is long enough," says Mark Henley, spokesperson for Uniting Communities. "The reality is that the hotel industry has had revenue from 700 poker machines they shouldn't have had for nearly a decade now." The new legislation allows gaming clubs to classify themselves into one of two categories.
Major clubs can have 60 pokies and minor clubs must reduce their pokie numbers to 20. Minor clubs are not permitted to depend on pokies as their main source of income. While this new system aims to reduce problem gambling rates, responsible gambling advocates are concerned that it will encourage an increase in the number of pokies in South Australia.
As such, they would like to see the excess pokies removed from the community before the new legislation is enacted. Business Services and Consumers Minister John Rau has confirmed that the local government is working hard to achieve this goal. He hopes that the local gaming market will be able to meet the quote in the near future.
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