Problem gamblers are estimated to have lost $30 million on Wyndham’s poker machines last financial year, prompting calls for $1 bet limits to be introduced in Victorian gaming venues.
The Greens are using the latest data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation to support their plan to introduce legislation to have betting limits placed on poker machines.
As reported by the Weekly, gamblers lost almost $250,000 a day on Wyndham’s pokies in 2013.
Most money was lost at the Werribee Plaza Tavern, with gamblers giving up $18 million at the venue in the 12 months.
Western Metropolitan Greens MP Colleen Hartland said the party’s proposed bill would make a huge difference to families suffering from the detrimental impacts of problem gambling.
“Currently, problem gamblers can lose thousands of dollars an hour on pokies,” she said. “ A $1 bet limit would limit losses to $120 per hour.
“A $1 limit on bets is the cheapest, most effective and most straightforward option for limiting the losses of problem gamblers.”
Last year, Monash University researcher Dr Charles Livingstone called for $1 limits to be introduced in outer-suburban areas, where gambling losses are among the highest in the state.
But Clubs Victoria executive director Richard Evans said betting limits would not prevent problem gambling.
“Firstly, address problem gambling as a health issue. It’s not about the amount [of money being gambled] – it’s about the amount of time a person will stay.
‘‘Problem gamblers will stay longer until they get the same result.
“This is a false policy and does not address the issue of problem gamblers … the problem lies with the person.”
