Australia Announces Spending Limits on Video Poker Machines
by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
With the scare tactics that have been used in order to keep online casino gambling illegal, Australia has taken pro-active steps to alleviate problem gambling within the country. Officials have announced their intent to make use of cards with spending limits in order to regulate the amount of time spent on poker machines.
Poker machines have been a popular form of casino gambling in South Australia, as they are legal in pubs. When pubs are open in South Australia, several people can be found playing the poker machines through all hours of the night. Because of this, problem gambling has become a concern to Australian officials. The government has come up with an experiment in order to decrease the amount of gaming that takes place each day.
Next month, Australia will be issuing cards that can be used by all offline and online casino gamblers in which the holder can preset an amount to spend on gaming. Users will be alerted when they have reached their spending limit, and service to the poker machine will be severed.
The card is completely voluntary, as this is an experimental procedure. The company that operates J-Card will be in charge of the trial period.
"I’d reinforce the point it’s a tool for all gamblers- it’s not necessarily a tool that can be used by all gamblers to pre-commitment and set limits on their expenditure and it’s certainly a trial worth undertaking here in South Australia," South Australian Gambling Minister, Paul Caica said.
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