ACT seeks proposals for gaming machines monitoring

The Government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is developing plans for a central monitoring system that could lead to the rollout of bet or loss limits on gaming machines.

The ACT Government launched a ‘market sounding’ exercise on 14 March to gather information about a central monitoring system that would connect all pokers machines in the territory, helping to deliver a consistent rollout of harm reduction initiatives.

“The ACT Government is firmly committed to reducing harm from gambling. A central monitoring system offers substantial potential to implement nation-leading measures to limit gambling losses and improve self-exclusion,” said Shane Rattenbury, ACT minister for gaming.

The CMS is expected to help government introduce harm reduction measures such as a universal player card linked to all gaming machine venues, cashless gaming with pre-commitment and loss limits, bet and deposit limits, and improved data collection for regulatory oversight. 

“The ACT needs additional measures to reduce the harm caused by gambling. We’re currently the only jurisdiction without a CMS in place. We need to get the measures in place that will allow best practice harm reduction – for example, a loss-limit scheme similar to the Tasmanian Government’s model, which prevents players losing more than set amounts,” said Rattenbury. “Upon receipt of the market sounding results, the ACT Government will swiftly consider the next steps to take in this area.”