$2 bet stake for Canberra pokies
The big debate right now is about the caps on pokies operating out of Canberra Casino.
At the moment, the cap is sitting at $10.
The ACT government has proposed $5. But the ACT Greens Party says it has to come in at $2.
It’s all part of the debates now going on around Australia about caps on gaming at casinos, and talks are set to continue for some weeks.
The big issue that’s stopping the parties coming to any agreement is the financials. As a result, the maximum bet limit is postponed and left up in the air.
The Greens are saying $2 is an optimum amount but manufacturers say that’s just impossible to implement.
The debate has been going on for some time and during the previous talks with Greens initially proposing a maximum bet limit of $1. The government however came in no lower than $5.
So ACT Greens leader Shane Rattenbury took the high road and proposed a figure of $2, and introduced amendments to the government’s existing bill.
It’s a proposal that was based on Productivity Commission research showing that $2 would be enough to “significantly” reduce the negative impacts of gambling on more susceptible people.
The government didn’t agree. Adding to that are the gaming machine manufacturers.
They said there aren’t many slots in use around the country that would allow a small maximum bet of just $2. So at present, the maximum is $10.
This is a problem for the Greens given they are moving close into entering government.
Still, you can’t argue with industry research.
At the moment, the government has permitted each land based casino to house a maximum of 200 machines, as well as 60 other, similar games.
The Canberra Liberal Party Canberra says pokies should exclusively be operated in clubs and hotels. That protects both the player and the wider community.
by Leon Gettler, October 25th 2017
