Tuesday, December 19, 2006

The Victorian Government has announced which gaming venues are to lose poker
machines under its plan to cap machine numbers in 19 Victorian regions. The
Government promised to move 543 gaming machines during the election campaign
and they will come from venues in Dandenong, Hume, Latrobe, Maribyrnong,
Monash and Warrnambool. Some clubs will lose only one or two machines and
they can be moved to other regions not covered by the cap. Gaming Minister
Daniel Andrews says it is part of a $132 million plan to reduce problem
gambling. "A comprehensive plan to take action on problem gambling," he
said. "This is the biggest package, the biggest policy and the biggest
financial commitment in terms of addressing and taking action on problem
gambling that Victoria has seen."
Opposition gaming spokesman Michael O'Brien says the Government is simply
moving pokies around instead of reducing the total number. He says it shows
the Government is not serious about tackling problem gambling. "You can't
solve the drug problem by moving drug dealers across the street and you
can't solve gambling problems by moving pokie machines from suburb to
suburb," he said. He says the caps will do nothing to help reduce problem
gambling. "This decision means that there will not be one less pokie machine
operating in Victoria, operating on one less day, taking one less dollar of
revenue," he said.