Clubs across Australia have requested a trial of Andrew Wilke’s pokie reform, which may push back the date of its legislation. Wilke had hoped that the bill would be passed during the spring of 2012, but it doesn’t seem likely if a trial is going to take place. Across the country, clubs have fought hard against the implementation of pokie reform.
Claiming that the initiative would be detrimental to their profits, residents became convinced that pokie reform was not the best way to fight problem gambling. However, it was revealed that Clubs Australia had been dishonest about its potential losses, causing the organization to agree to a trial to the precommitment technology.
A few stipulations have been placed, however. Clubs would only submit if the government agreed to cover the costs associated with installing the software on their machines. Additionally, the government would have to pay compensation to cover any losses that may occur as a result of the trial. Andrew Wilkie hoped to have mandatory precommitment in place across Australia by 2014, but the complex trial may push this date back.
Any holes in the plan, highlighted during the trial, will have to be dealt with before the reform is legislated, pushing the implementation of pokie reform even further away.