This week, the ACT government has announced a major change for the poker machine market. Now, players will be able to use $50 notes on pokies – whereas the previous limit restricted players to using $20 notes or lower. According to ABC News, the major goal of the increase in the note limit is to make ACT clubs more competitive with clubs in other states.
It seems that the ACT is losing gaming revenue to clubs in New South Wales, and the local government wants to ensure that pokie fans remain in the state to spend their dollars. While it aims to benefit the economy, the new limit has seen some backlash. As expected, this move has attracted a great deal of controversy.
Across the country, responsible gambling advocates are working hard to reduce the amount of money that players can wager on games. However, the ACT seems to be going in the opposite direction by allowing players to actually wager more money on pokies. ACT Gaming Minister Joy Burch has defended the decision to raise the poker note limit.
She maintains that it will not have a negative effect on the community and that it will not cause a rise in problem gambling rates across the state. She stated that the government consulted with owners of local pokie venues in order to ensure that players would be protected.
"We've been working with the clubs over the last few years to make sure we maintain a stringent harm minimisation approach but also keep them competitive with NSW clubs," she says. Still, responsible gambling advocates are not convinced. Charles Livingstone, a researcher at Monash University, notes that spending patterns are certainly affected by ‘changing the configuration of the acceptors’.
He believes that this move will cause players to spend more money on pokies and ultimately increase both gambling spending and problem gambling rates.
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