GREENS MLA Shane Rattenbury will move to ban headphones on poker machines in the ACT today.

Mr Rattenbury says an amendment to the Gaming Machine Act is needed to prevent the introduction of new gaming machines with headphones that encourage gamblers to play for longer periods of time.

“These new poker machines with headphones encourage gamblers to play for longer periods of time because there’s no distractions,” he says.

“We don’t have any yet in the Territory but it’s important that we keep ahead of the manufacturers who are seeking to bring in these devices which will simply encourage people to gamble more.”

The new Greens Bill will prevent the Gambling and Racing Commissioners from approving machines with audio devices unless the device is specifically for those with a hearing impairment.

“Victoria and NSW have prohibited machines with audio isolation devices, and the ACT needs to do the same,” Mr Rattenbury says.