In Sydney, pokies clubs are required to prohibit players from wagering on pokies for three hours every day. Most clubs stick to the rules, but it has been revealed that five venues across the city have violated these rules. This week, the clubs were reprimanded, and are now facing stiff fines and court battles. At the turn of the century, pokie shutdowns were imposed as part of several harm minimisation measures.
Pokie clubs were required to shut down their gaming machines for four hours every day, which would force problem gamblers to take a breaking from wagering. Most shutdowns occurred between 4am and 10am. The five venues were discovered to have been violating these rules during a crackdown carried out by the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing.
Their gaming machines were audited and their CCTV footage was monitored. After thorough investigation, the regulator confirmed that the venues were permitted players to wager on pokies when the games should have been shut down.
"All licensed venues that operate gaming machines need to rigorously observe and adhere to their shutdown periods and other in-venue harm minimisation requirements or face fines or potential court prosecution," says Hospitality Minister George Souris. The fours pubs and one club that had violated the terms were forced to pay fines of $38 000. I any court action follows, then each venue will pay upwards of $11 000.
These are quite steep fines, and hopefully they will deter other clubs from violating the shutdown rules. It is important for clubs to shut down their pokies for several hours a day, because it forces players to take some time off. During this time, they can go home and remove themselves from the gambling market.
They are given the opportunity to reflect on their behaviour and spending, and it is hoped that they will choose to gamble more responsibly.
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