Australia continues to work on its gambling activities by introducing new legislation targeted at improving customer protection and also allowing operators to conduct business complying with clear-cut and straightforward rules. However, poker machines may now have to go, amid a new restrictive move.
ACT Ready to Scrap Poker Machines
Casinos in Australia operate under a latticework of regulations and compromises. It’s not always easy to find the middle ground and concessions are needed more often than not. Today, the Legislative Assembly of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) has pushed ahead with a piece of legislation that targets poker machine licenses, amid intensifying concerns of spreading addiction.
The move is anticipated to come into force as early as April 2019 by which time all venues holding poker machines will have to remove a part of them from the premises to comply with the new law. While not a complete and outright ban, the Gaming Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 will seek to restrict the total number of permissible poker machines to 4,000.
Though the move doesn’t affect casinos directly, it will have an impact on sports, social and cultural clubs in the country. Authorities have already specified the “collection dates”, urging companies to hand in their poker machines on April 1, 2019 or April 30 2020.
To achieve balance and make sure that the reduction is equal across the board, a venue may not hand in more than 20% of its total poker machines, with the total number of machines expected to fall by 1,000.
Culling the Machines, Raising Benefits
The government has also increased the amount that operators need to disburse into community causes, pumping up the rate to 8.8%. Clubs and operators can choose a variety of initiatives to back, including recreational, cultural, and social projects.
Another important wrinkle in the legislation is that funds may no longer be used to endorse professional sporting bodies and teams, as per the latest report which revealed intentional disbursement of the funds to professional athletic outfits.
In order to separate the segment from politics, Attorney General Gordon Ramsay has also ordered that no more than 2% can be allocated to politicians. Any failure to meet the mandatory 8% will cost operators dearly as the government will claim the remaining sum and increase it by 150%, distributing it as it sees fit in the process.
To make sure that the funds are spent in a manner that benefits communities effectively, the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission will actively seek to assist governmental officials in distributing the money.
Meanwhile, Australia has been leading other battles too, specifically in trying to restrict the access of offshore bookmakers to the country’s players. Most recently, the media regulatory body, ACMA, has confirmed that as many as 33 online casinos have been prevented from offering their products to Australians.
However, some fear that the ousting of casinos has affected some of the most-respected brands, which were strong-armed by ACMA which threatened to notify their respective licensing bodies should they not stop operating in the country.
