No $1 Pokies Betting Limit for Tasmania

This week, Labour refused The Greens proposal to trial $1 betting limits in Tasmania. While The Greens are convinced that the set betting limit would be far more effecting than the current plan for pokie reform, Labour believes that voluntary pre-commitment will work just fine.

The Greens have been trying for years to have $1 betting limits imposed on all poker machines across the country. When politicians were debating the terms of pokie reform legislation, representatives of the Greens pushed for set limits. In the end, voluntary pre-commitment won – but The Greens have continued to fight.

Party members believed that it would be effective to trial $1 betting limits in Tasmania, where 22% of gambling profits are generated by problem gamblers. However, Labour did not feel the same way. At a hearing on Wednesday, the majority government shot down the idea.

The Greens are still committed to imposing $1 betting limits on pokies, but there seems to be little hope that this will ever happen. The group has yet to announce any further plans to introduce a trial of this technology in Tasmania or any other states.