Gamblers 'should face pokie play limit'

Online gaming companies will be able to set up shop in mainland Australia and target
local punters if the government accepts the recommendations of a draft Productivity
Commission report on gambling.

Gamblers would also be restricted to bets of $1 per play on pokies and face limits
on cash machine withdrawals under the recommendations.
The report, which shows Australians lose $18 billion a year on gambling, has been
welcomed as a first step by anti-pokies advocates and heavily criticised by the
clubs and racing industry.
Racing NSW says repealing the Interactive Gambling Act, which prevents
Australian-based companies providing online gaming to locals, would lead to an
increase in problem gambling.
"It would open up the greatest problem gambling situation on God's earth," chief
executive Peter V'Landy told AAP on Wednesday.
It would also hurt the racing industry because punters would place bets online, not
at racetracks, he said.
But the commission says punters already access online gaming from overseas companies
that "generally fall short of best practice" on harm minimisation.
A well-regulated local online industry would help problem gamblers access
counselling and better protect others from being "ripped off", it says.
The registered clubs movement opposes the report's recommendations that poker
machine players be restricted to bets of $1, down from the current maximum of $10,
and be able to gamble no more than $20 on one machine at a time.
The clubs also resist a suggested $200 ATM withdrawal limit on cash machines located
nearby.
Clubs Australia acting CEO Anthony Ball said it was an "unproven big brother" approach.
"It is the gambling equivalent of telling people how much money they can spend
purchasing alcohol or dining at an expensive restaurant."
The Australian Bankers Association says the ATM restrictions will "discriminate
against consumers, especially those in rural and regional Australia".
But independent senator Nick Xenophon and Reverend Tim Costello welcomed the report
as a first step and want the recommendations implemented immediately.
However, the anti-pokies campaigners want gamblers not to have the option to opt out
of a system that allows them to set the amount of money and time they spend
gambling, another recommendation in the report.
"We don't have optional seatbelts, so why should a safety measure such as this be
optional?" Senator Xenophon asked.
Senator Xenophon and the Australian Greens also want ATMs phased out of all gaming
venues.
The federal government said the draft report underlined what could be done to
address problem gambling.
"We know it does have a very big impact on families and individuals. We know that we
need to make some changes," Families Minister Jenny Macklin said.
"It (the report) has a number of practical proposals about how to go forward."
The commission wants restrictions in place by 2016 and is expected to hand a final
report to the government early next year.