Pre-commitment scheme for Tasmanian poker machine players to be introduced in December 2025

The state’s gaming regulator has revealed when a nation-leading new harm minimisation scheme will be rolled out across Tasmanian clubs and hotels.

A new precommitment scheme for poker machine players is set to be implemented in December 2025.

A nation-leading scheme requiring poker machine players to set mandatory loss limits will be rolled out in Tasmania in December next year, the state’s gaming regulator has announced.

The Rockliff government attracted criticism in July this year when it conceded that the introduction of a card-based precommitment scheme had been delayed due to the monitoring licence operator, MaxGaming Holdings, needing additional time to develop the system.

The scheme was announced in 2022 and was originally expected to be put in place by the end of this year. However, Finance Minister Nic Street has said MaxGaming requires “at least another 18 months” to get the technology up and running.

Tasmania is set to implement nation-leading gaming reforms. Photo: Max Fleet / NewsMail

It would involve a cashless system whereby pokies users would be required to set default loss limits of $100 a day, $500 a month, and $5000 per year. People would be able to lower their default limit at any time but would need to be able to prove they could sustain greater losses if they wished to increase their cap.

On Monday, the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission (TLGC) released a public consultation paper relating to the player card gaming system.

It detailed how the scheme would work and invited submissions from the public.

TLGC chair Jenny Cranston said pokies players would be able to track their gaming spend “for the first time”.

Chair of the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission Jenny Cranston.

“Players will be informed and can make rational decisions about the money lost and time they spend on gaming machines, rather than during the gaming session itself when they may be frustrated, disappointed, excited or chasing their losses,” she said.

“The system will be secure and simple to use, give players choice and will have minimal impact on recreational gamblers. The system will support venues through the introduction of features that will make it easier to ensure that gambling occurs in a responsible way.”

Ms Cranston said the system would first come into effect in the form of carded play in clubs and hotels in December 2025, before being linked to the existing card-based play scheme in casinos by an as yet undetermined date.

Under the scheme, cash and coins will no longer be inserted into pokies and players will have to preload money onto an account in order to use the machines. They will also be required to obtain a registered player card for use on all machines across the state.