Casinos dodge cash withdrawal limit

Once the Gambling Industry becomes a partner with the government, sensible controls to reduce Gambling Addiction are fought and resisted.


Casinos dodge cash withdrawal limit
by: Samantha Maiden and Alex White
From: Sunday Herald Sun

CASINOS will be exempt from new $250-a-day cash withdrawal limits at ATMs in pubs and clubs.

Under the Prime Minister's compromise pokie reform package, a hybrid plan to overhaul gaming, taxpayers will pay pokies operators cash incentives to participate in a multimillion-dollar trial of mandatory bet limits in Canberra.

And there will be no $1 bet limits and only a limited trial of technology that forces punters to pre-program how much they are prepared to lose.

But for most punters, the first impact of the reforms will be cash withdrawal limits at most pubs and clubs from early next year under the plan.

"Clearly, if people can keep getting more and more cash then they can be more and more at risk of putting that cash down the machine and losing it," Julia Gillard said yesterday.

"So the amount of cash available from machines will be limited to $250 per day with appropriate exemptions."

Casinos, as big tourism centres, will not be subject to ATM limits. Poker machines will also be fitted with warnings to connect with gamblers mid-play.

The trial of mandatory pre-commitment or bet limits is planned in Canberra next year.

Key crossbencher Tony Crook warned other independents to be wary of making deals with the PM after she backed away from the original pokie deal that would have seen laws passed by May.

He said: "I think the voters will see it as brutal. The PM has been seen as a great deal-maker -- now she's a deal-breaker."

But the AFL welcomed the announcement, hailing it as "sensible and pragmatic".

"The measures will have a positive impact on helping the small minority of pokies players who cannot control their play," spokesman Patrick Keane said.

The Government will also introduce 50 new financial counsellors to work with problem gamblers.

It announced plans to ban live odds during sports coverage and crack down on online betting companies offering credit.

THE GILLARD COMPROMISE

* February 2013: trial starts of pre-commitment technology on poker machines in Canberra

* The technology would see punters pre-program their betting limits before they sit down to play.

* All new machines installed will have to be fitted with pre-commitment technology from next year.

* All existing machines to be upgraded by 2016.

* ATMS in gambling venues limited to dispending $250 a day, except in some country areas.

BROKEN PROMISES

* No $1 limits on betting

* Casinos will not have to abide by new ATM rules.

* Move to test pre-commitment technology is a trial only, with no guarantee it will be implemented.