In Wyndham, city councillors have set off on a mission to tackle problem gambling. They want to ban new pokies from being added to local shopping centres in order to stop players from making ‘impulse decisions’ to gamble.
Dean Rochefort, Director of Sustainable Development for Wyndham City Councils, states that he is alarm at how many new pokies are being approved by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VLCGR). He hopes that the city council can compel the regulator to impose new rule on where pokies can and cannot be located within the city.
When pokie venues are located outside of highly frequented areas like shopping malls, there are out of the way of everyday people traffic. Any person who wishes to gamble must go out of their way to play pokies and they are not tempted to do so while carrying out everyday activities like shopping. The council has identified a number of locations at which gambling will be discouraged.
These include low-income neighbourhoods, where problem gambling rates are the highest. Another restriction would see new gaming venues banned from being located within walking distance of another casino or pokie club. The plan will also identify areas where gambling will be encouraged. These include areas where there are plenty of entertainment options.
This means that patrons would have choices other than gambling when they want to head out for a night on the town. ‘‘It was important to seek controls to be inserted into the planning scheme to provide council with the ability to control the location of future gaming venues,” says Mr Rochfort. He states that the plan is not a ‘magic fix’ to controlling gambling-related harm – but it is a start.
The location of pokie clubs and casinos certainly does influence problem gambling rates, and controlling their locations will go a long way to helping deal with this issue.
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