The statewide introduction of a cashless gaming card must be the guiding light of reform.
Treasurer Daniel Mookhey confirmed Labor would not follow through on its pre-election commitment to remove 9500 poker machines from circulation.
The government has introduced various gambling reforms,but harm minimisation advocates say they will not make an impact.
“Gambling is taking an incredible toll on the community and we are sleep-walking,” one national campaigner said of the latest numbers from Queensland.
Poker machine reforms were the unifying factor for three new MPs.
A cashless gambling trial was meant to guide public policy on poker machines,but divisions are wider than ever and the government is in a pickle. What went wrong?
People aged 18 to 24 are the biggest users of poker machines in Victoria,having grown up in a culture where their use was normalised.
In one council area,more than $2 million a day was poured into poker machines during a three-month period,leaving gambling reform advocates furious.
Crown casino was subjected to strict requirements after it was found to have facilitated money-laundering. Now it wants the same rules applied to everyone.
An acknowledgement that their 190 poker machines in two venues are causing social harm would affect its financial independence from the AFL,Essendon says.