The Spring Racing Carnival has just begun. While the event marks a time of fun and excitement for racing fans across Melbourne, it is important for spectators to exercise caution if they plan on making wagers. To help punters maintain control over their spending, the Minister for Communities has launched a new smartphone app called Stay On Track SA.
The app features quite a simple format. Users enter their name and decide how often they would like to be reminded how often to record their bets. Then, they set their betting budget, determining how much money they can afford to spending on gambling. The last step is to decide on a tracking period, and Problem Gambling Help SA suggests that the period should run from your last pay cheque to your current paycheque.
As the user makes wagers, the app will keep track of their spending. On the MyTracker screen, there are two meters to track losses and the tracking period. When a win is made, betting budget metre reduces. When a loss occurs, the betting budget metres increases. The tracking period metre shows how many days there are left for you to spend your allowance, which can be helpful.
If only a few days have passed and your budget is nearly gone, you may want slow down. There is also a unique color coding system. When the app is red, the player is close to exceeding their budget. It is a very visual way of warning players about their gambling spending.
"Stay On Track SA is an early intervention tool aimed at people who may have a developing gambling habit but may not be aware of it or not ready to admit it yet," says Social Inclusion Minister Zoe Bettison. "It is the first time in South Australia an app like this has been available to assist gamblers”.
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