Gambling spending is on the decline in Victoria, thanks to a number of effective reforms that were enacted last year. The state is seeing fewer problem gamblers spending money on pokies and although gambling revenues have declined, politicians are pleased that gaming venues are benefitting less from addicted players.
"It would be preferable to receive no revenue at all from problem gamblers, no matter what the effect on the government's bottom line," says Gaming Minister Edward O'Donohue. Pokie losses have greatly declined over the course of the past year. In March 2012, Victorians lost $228 million on poker machines. This year, they lost just $205 million, marking a 10% decline in gambling spending.
This is the steepest decline that Victoria has seen in over 20 years, proving that the state’s recent gambling reforms are effective. The first reform was made in June 2012, when the Victorian government decided to ban ATMs at gambling venues. Pokie clubs across the state were no longer allowed to host cash machines, preventing patrons from withdrawing more funds after they had spent all of their cash.
Just 6 months after the ban was imposed, gambling spending fell by $62 million. In November 2012, the state also banned the use of headphones while playing pokies. Plugging into poker machines resulted in players becoming too engrossed in the games to be able to make responsible decisions about their spending. As such, local politicians felt that this type of technology was harmful to gaming club patrons.
Banning the technology has helped to curb problem gambling rates. Although voluntary pre-commitment has not yet been rolled out across the country, Victoria is making great strides to reduce gambling spending. When voluntary pre-commitment is rolled out, which will limit ATM withdrawals at clubs across the country, Victoria will be permitted to uphold its ban on cash machines altogether.
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