Page 2885 - Week 08 - Thursday, 17 August 2017
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of gross gaming machine revenue per gaming machine to contribute to the compulsory surrender at a higher rate than clubs with lower revenue.
I will be seeking the views of clubs on the options in this paper over the next month. I also welcome the views of other stakeholders and members of the ACT community with an interest in gambling harm minimisation on the options to implement a maximum of 4,000 gaming machine authorisations. To be clear, this paper is not an invitation to revisit whether we should reduce the number of gaming machines. Its focus is to find ways to achieve the 4,000 target, which is a government commitment that we will be implementing.
As I mentioned earlier, this government will keep looking at ways to improve the effectiveness of our current framework. We will continue to ask questions such as: what new harm minimisation rules can we adopt from other jurisdictions? Are our self-exclusion rules for clubs strong enough to help problem gamblers get help? Can clubs support staff to identify and respond appropriately to individuals at risk of gambling harm?
I intend to convene a gambling harm minimisation roundtable later this year to answer these and other questions about our harm minimisation framework. The roundtable will develop information about our options, including the implementation of bet limits and pre-commitments on gaming machines in the territory. It will examine evidence about the effectiveness of different harm minimisation measures and practical issues with implementation. I will be seeking broad-based participation in the roundtable. Representatives of gaming machine venues, gambling reform advocacy organisations, academic experts and regulators will all be invited.
At the beginning of this term of government I identified harm minimisation as one of my key portfolio priorities. As I have outlined, the government is delivering on its commitment. The reforms being implemented, including cash withdrawals at gaming venues and encouraging clubs to diversify away from gaming, are an important beginning. The consultation process that I am beginning today will lay the foundation for removing 985 authorisations for gaming machines. The roundtable later this year will develop even stronger harm minimisation measures. We welcome and encourage the engagement of those directly affected by gambling harm, organisations working to reduce gambling harm and the industry, including the clubs sector, as the government takes forward this important work. This community has made its expectations about harm minimisation clear: more and stronger measures are needed.
This government has heard the community loud and clear and will keep working to deliver on its commitment to reduce the impact of gambling harm. I present the following papers:
Preventing and Minimising Gambling Harm—Ministerial statement, 17 August 2017.
Implementing the Government Commitment to Reduce Gaming Machine Authorisations—Options for Consultation, dated August 2017.
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