Trade unions and coalition ensure clubs will not lobby for impending Porky reform in Victoria

Coalition Gaming spokesman Danny O’Brien also confirmed that he had a video call with CCV after being appointed to the portfolio in July. He said the club made it clear there were no major changes to worry about.

“Liberals and Nationals support local community clubs and venues that are at the heart of our community,” O’Brien said. age.

Victorian Gaming Minister Melissa Horne. credit:Justin McManus

Earlier this year, Crown warned that limiting the new rules to casinos would push problem gambling and money laundering elsewhere with less stringent regulations.

However, CCV and the influential pub lobby, the Australian Hotel Association (AHA), strongly oppose extending Crown-style regulation beyond casinos.

Club and pub lobbies also don’t expect Victoria to replicate Tasmania’s groundbreaking bipartisan plan for a mandatory pre-commitment system that limits individual pokey spending to a maximum of $100 a day. Hmm.

New South Wales Prime Minister Dominic Perrotet also backed the idea of ​​cashless game cards after the state crime commission warned: billions of dollars Every year in state pubs and clubs “dirty money” was wagered.

Now, gambling experts say Victoria may be lagging behind other states in regulating pokey in pubs and clubs where the majority of pokey losses occur.

Charles Livingston of Monash University said Tasmania showed the way to reform by promising a mandatory pre-commitment regime.

“Given that Pocky has hurt more accessible pubs and clubs in the state’s poorer suburbs and country towns than casinos, why are the major political parties in Victoria reluctant to act? he asked.

“Where is the lobby that uses the losses of vulnerable gamblers to buy political influence, or the loyalty of workers fighting poverty and disadvantage in the heart of the ALP?”

Prime Minister Daniel Andrews is well known in business and labor circles for his friendship with the liquor and gaming industries, especially the AHA.

Ahead of the 2018 state elections, the AHA poured nearly $1 million into Labor's campaign.

Ahead of the 2018 state elections, the AHA poured nearly $1 million into Labor’s campaign.credit:Andrew Dyson

Ahead of the 2018 election, the AHA poured about $1 million into labor unions and its former fundraising arm, Progressive Business. Largest corporate donation ever to a Victorian political party. He also donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Liberals and Nationals to support independents who favor major parties over their opposition Greens.

of club sector contributed By ‘mobilizing’ the Game Club’s 600,000 members and encouraging them to vote for the major parties, they contributed to the Labor Party’s landslide victory.

It is not yet clear how much support the gaming lobby is providing to major political parties in this campaign. This is the first time under Labor’s new law restricting a donor from exceeding her $4,080 in his four years.

New Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission figures show record pokey spending, with $804.5 million lost in the first three months of the financial year.

This was a 12.6% increase from the same three-month period in 2018-2019, and marks a real turnaround for the pandemic-induced dip in poker machine spending. Victoria expects losses this fiscal year to exceed $3 billion for the first time.

The biggest expense was in West Melbourne, where Porky players lost $46.2 million on Brimbank machines in the September quarter. This was followed by Casey in the southeast where he lost $42.8 million and Whittlesea in the northeast where he lost $39.2 million.

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The Productivity Committee Estimate That problem gambler accounts for about 40 cents on every dollar lost.

A government spokeswoman said: “The Royal Commission has recommended that the Crown introduce a mandatory pre-commitment scheme and that is exactly what we are offering.”

She said the government set up the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission to strengthen harm minimization requirements and provide stronger regulation of all gambling and games, including pubs and clubs. said.

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https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/victoria/labor-libs-pre-commit-to-pokies-reform-protection-for-pubs-and-clubs-20221122-p5c06r.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_national Trade unions and coalition ensure clubs will not lobby for impending Porky reform in Victoria

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