The state government has ignored genuine measures to reduce the harm caused by poker machine in its proposed gaming legislation, councils and social service bodies have said.
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In a submission during the public consultation period for the legislation, the peak body representing Tasmanian councils urged the government to reconsider imposing measures on machines such as slow spinning rates and lower maximum bets.
Chief executive officer Dion Lester said council feedback indicated there was also the need for mandated regular machine shutdowns in venues and a requirement for losses not to be disguised as near misses during gaming.
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He said it was unclear how the proposed amendments in the government's bill would strengthen harm minimisation.
City of Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten said the bill provided no pathway to harm minimisation for gambling support beyond a proportion of funding from the Community Support Levy.
He said there were about 326 electronic gaming machines spread across the municipality with 38 per cent of these located in low socio-economic suburbs.
Cr van Zetten said the council had concerns that allocating EGM licences to venue owners might make it harder to limit the harm to at-risk gamblers.
"It has been suggested that a single licence model is the best model for Tasmania because the regulator has a greater degree of control over the industry and the new licence model would reduce this level of control and generate greater competition between venues," he said.
Major Brad Watson, of the Tasmanian Salvation Army branch, said machines played at high intensity could result in the loss of $1200 or more to a person in an hour.
He said maximum bet limits of $1 and slower speeds had been long called for over years, but were not recognised in the proposed legislation.
"Similarly, we note that the proposed amendments do not include specific consumer protection measures, despite evidence that the current mechanisms in place, based on self-exclusion, have not been effective in reducing the harm caused by gambling," he said.
"Voluntary restrictions rely on a person affected by gambling issues taking a positive action which can easily be frustrated if systems are not supportive of the action.
"Because gambling addiction is an impulse control disorder, the design and implementation of self-exclusion programs is fundamental to their success."
TasCOSS has also supported a drop in the maximum bet limit, lowering spin speeds, and a reduction in the maximum jackpot from $25,000 to $1000.
It wants to see the return to player rate increased from 85 per cent to 95 per cent.
The government in its own summary of the submissions received during consultation states 69 per cent of them proposed specific harm minimisation measures.
It said five of the 26 submissions recommended harm minimisation measures should be included in the bill.
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Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
