Queensland Wants to Extend Pokie Club Hours

As the federal government considers tightening poker machine laws, politicians in the state of Queensland want to relax restrictions. Recently, a discussion paper was published, offering recommendations for ways in which to remove the ‘red tape’ surrounding the poker machine market – but these strategies have not gone over well with local community groups.

The discussion paper recommended that betting limits are raised from $5 to $10, and that players should be allowed to use bills with larger denominations. Currently, $20 bills are the limit, but the paper suggested that players should be able to use $50 and $100 bills.

It has also been suggested that pokie clubs extend their opening hours. According to the discussion paper clubs should be able to open earlier, allowing players to wager on pokies at just about any time of day.

As you can imagine, these recommendations have not been well-received by community members. A significant portion of the population supports the federal government’s pokie reform plan, which encourages players to spend less money on pokies. Queensland is taking the opposite approach, and residents are not pleased with the proposed ideas.

Local politicians defend the discussion paper, stating that the relaxation of pokie restrictions would benefit the community. They claim that the recommendations would increase gambling revenue and contribute more funds to community organizations.