Pokies crackdown in Victoria to ‘save lives and livelihoods’

Victorian Gaming Minister Melissa Horne will introduce some of the country’s toughest pokies regulations to parliament this week. First announced last year, the new reforms were put together under the government of former premier Daniel Andrews. “We owe it to all Victorians to take this stance and help those experiencing harm to turn their lives around,” Mr Andrews told reporters at the time. Among the changes is the introduction of “carded play”, which will be piloted across selected venues from mid-2025. Under the carded play framework, patrons will have to play using a cashless card with the option to set limits on how much they are willing to lose. It is hoped the change will enable harm reduction by influencing patrons to “pre commit” to the amount of money they are willing to gamble. In addition to protecting the welfare of patrons, the new laws will also aim to curb the use of gaming machines for money laundering. Other changes announced include a new limit on the amount of money that can be loaded onto machines, with the maximum being slashed from $1000 to $100. The “spin rate” of each machine will also be extended to three seconds per spin in another bid to slow down each game. Pending the bill’s passage, those changes are expected to come into force from December 1, 2025. From August, gaming areas across all of the state’s clubs and hotels will also be subject to a closure period from 4am to 10am. Industry giant Crown Resorts is welcoming the new reforms as “an important milestone,” with a spokesman explaining its casinos have utilised carded play since December 2023. “In just 12 months, more than 400,000 guests have registered for carded play, creating a more sustainable and safer gaming environment for guests and the wider community,” the spokesman added. Mrs Horne said the reforms “provide important protections for people using gaming machines and for their loved ones”. “These laws will save lives and livelihoods by giving control back to patrons.” More than 30,000 pokies machines are in operation across the state, costing Victorians an estimated $7bn each year.