The Australian Capital Territory Government's Gaming Minister, Joy Burch, has stood by her pre-Christmas decision to raise the note limit for poker machines in the ACT.
The machines are now restricted to $50 notes, rather than the previous $20 note limit. The minister was confident on Monday that the change will not worsen gambling problems in the territory.
Ms Burch told reporters that local gambling venue owners were involved during the consultation process that was directed at the development of a "stringent harm minimisation approach." The outcome also seeks to ensure that ACT venues continue to maintain competitiveness with clubs in New South Wales.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr reinforced his colleague's statements, expressing a belief that the ACT Government has "enacted the strongest harm minimisation regime that this territory has ever seen". Lowering the total number of poker machines in the ACT has been one of the results of the government's regime.
In an interview with local ABC radio, Monash University gambling expert, Dr Charles Livingstone, said that research from Queensland—in which researchers measured the impact of machines that only accepted $20 notes up to the value of $100—showed that "changing the configuration of the acceptors actually does have an impact on people's spending patterns."
According to the Monash University academic, gambling problems are established more rapidly if the amounts of money being inserted into poker machines increases, as people hurriedly try to make up for what they have lost.
The Salvation Army Canberra's Scott Warrington explained why the action of the ACT Government is a "step backwards":
"I think gamblers don't realise what they're doing until their entire wage is gone ... Instead of taking multiple slots to reach that realisation, now it's only four or five hits for someone that's on a pension."
The regulations in the rest of the country depend on the state or territory in question. A note limit does not exist for poker machines in NSW, while Victorian and Queensland machines accept $50 notes.