Local Governments Demand New Stake Limits for Pokies

A group of Australian local councils has upped the ante in the battle to lower the maximum bets on the slots machines known as pokies. Earlier this week, a group of 18 local councils from the State of Victoria banded together to announce their support of both stakes and the anti-gambling group behind the effort known as, the Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR).
The group of local councils is not just committed to lowering the maximum wager on the spin of a pokie from $5 AU ($3.70 USD) to $1 AU ($.074 USD). They’ve also signed on to an effort to reduce the operating hours of pub-based pokie rooms across the continent. They’re also on board with an effort to limit the amount of cash a patron can pull out from a pokie room-based ATM from $500 to $200.
AGR believes that these moves will curb the spread of what it sees as an epidemic of problem gambling. One small town mayor told the Sydney Morning Herald, “This is a crisis and we are here to make sure reducing poker machine harm is a crucial state election issue.”
Of course the small business owners who run the pubs that house pokies don’t see the issue through quite the same lens as small town mayors and anti-gambling activists. The battle over pokies betting stakes minimums runs directly through their bottom lines. Nonetheless, Australian government officials report that losses at pokies are at an all-time high of nearly $2.7 billon (AU) over the last year.
The currently presiding government in Australia has been accused by the AGR and other activists of siding with the gambling industry on these in the past.