A recent survey has revealed that thousands of Australians support the idea of a $1 betting limit on poker machines. The limit was introduced as an alternative to Andrew Wilke’s precommitment scheme, and has gained a great deal of positive attention so far. According to Malcolm Turnbull of the Coaliation, 67% of the survey’s respondents support the $1 betting limit.
He believes that more people have jumped on board with the idea of the betting limit, as it is easier to understand. Some politicians have adopted this point of view as well, as it seems that Wilke’s ideas for pokie reform are too complex and convoluted. Over 7000 people completed the survey. It received a great deal of attention, as it was linked from an article by Tim Costello of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce.
In the article, he stated that voluntary reform would not adequately deal with the country’s growing problem gambling rates. The public opinion on voluntary precommitment still seems to be undecided however. According to Turnbull’s survey, less than 50% supported the idea of voluntary gambling reform while nearly 37% did not.