‘Told you so’ THA says it warned government poker machine scheme was too hard

Described as a “huge, nation leading and complex project” to tackle problem gambling, the state government’s pledge for reform has been slammed by the hospitality industry. Here’s why.

THA CEO Steve Old at Doctor Syntax Hotel. Picture: Chris Kidd

The state’s hospitality industry says the state government was warned that its gambling reforms would be difficult to implement.

Plans to implement a card-based precommitment scheme for poker machines that were supposed to be in place this year have been delayed by at least 18 months.

The state government pledged the scheme in 2022, to limit the losses incurred by problem gamblers.

The nation-leading reform was to be cashless and to set default loss limits of $100 a day, $500 a month and $5000 per year.

Tasmanian Hospitality Association chief Steve Old said the policy was flawed and the government had need told.

“From the moment Minister Michael Ferguson announced his ridiculous timeline to have a mandatory card-based system with precommitment measures implemented by December this year, the Tasmanian Hospitality Association has said it couldn’t be done,” he said.

“This proposed system has not been developed anywhere in the world, and we have been trying to explain that to Mr Ferguson for a year and a half.

“Mr Ferguson’s decision was made with zero consultation with industry, zero consultation with the EGM manufacturers and, more importantly, zero consultation with his own party.

“He continually declined to listen to the experts in the field and now the Liberal Government has been forced to admit these measures were never a realistic chance of being in place in time.

“The THA is committed to working with politicians and operators to provide effective harm minimisation measures for those who required them, without impacting freedom of choice.”

A spokesman for Max Gaming, which is in charge of rolling out the new system, said it was a complicated task.

“MAX is proud to be partnering with government to deliver a bespoke, fit for purpose statewide player card gaming system that includes precommitment and cashless gaming.

“This is a huge, nation leading and complex project – there is no ‘off the shelf solution’ and we need to get this right for Tasmanians.

“We have undertaken a significant amount of work which has included high level design, scoping, costings, solution options and implementation runway.

“We will continue to work closely with our government partners to deliver on our commitments and ensure our solution works for all Tasmanians.

TasCOSS CEO Adrienne Picone said it was important to get the scheme right.

“While disappointed by this delay, we welcome the government restating its commitment to implementing a precommitment gaming card,” she said.

“In the interim, we urge the government to introduce simple harm reduction design features on poker machine, such as $1 bet limits and slower spin speeds.

“It is estimated that waiting an extra year for the introduction of the precommitment card will result in Tasmanians losing an additional $189.1m to poker machines.”

“The evidence shows that the best consumer protections to prevent and reduce gambling‑related harm include a universal, pre-commitment gaming card and safer programming of poker machines.”

Originally published as ‘Told you so’ THA says it warned government poker machine scheme was too hard