Victorian Premier Denis Napthine has introduced a legislation that will make it mandatory for all poker machines in the state to offer voluntary pre-commitment services to players. While local politicians state that the legislation will help to curb problem gambling rates in Victoria, residents and publicans are doubtful that pre-commitment is an effective measure.
"It's about empowering the individual,” says Gaming Minister Edward O’Donohue. “We recognise that the vast majority of players do so in a responsible way, which is an enjoyable pursuit for them. We are talking about a small minority of players who have a problem."
O’Donohue and Napthine are confident that voluntary pre-commitment will help to reduce problem gambling spending across the state, but researchers in the field are not so sure. According to problem gambling experts, voluntary pre-commitment is not an effective measure because it is very easy for problem gamblers to bypass the system that is in place to help them.
The system aims to curb problem gambling rates by allowing players to set their own limits using a pre-commitment card. When they reach their limit, they will no longer be able to wager on games. The idea is that players will simply stop playing after this, but Dr Charles Livingstone, a problem gambling researcher from Monash University, has pointed out a major flaw in the system.
He noted that there is nothing stopping a problem gambler from removing their pre-commitment card once their limit has been exceeded. According to Livingstone, the less than 10% of players will actually take advantage of the pre-commitment systems available to them. So, it is no wonder publicans are reluctant to install pre-commitment software on their games.
The government has yet to announce how much it will cost for each game to be outfitted with the software, but clubs have been informed that they will be footing the bill for the installation and will be required to pay a fee in order to use it.
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