LEGISLATION has been introduced today (August 24) by the ACT government that ensures the casino licence in Canberra can only acquire gaming machine authorisations under strict conditions.
Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay says the “Casino (Electronic Gaming) Bill 2017” sets robust conditions the casino has to meet before it can operate electronic gaming machines.
“As part of any application, the casino must provide a social impact assessment and this assessment must be made available for public comment for a minimum of eight weeks,” Mr Ramsay says.
“In addition, the casino must complete a major redevelopment before it can begin operating these machines.
“Casinos will be required to connect any gaming machines it acquires to an approved mandatory pre?commitment system.
“Bet limits on any gaming machines acquired by casinos will also be capped. We suggest $5 a spin, but we’ll consult the community and take advice from experts to finalise that figure.
“The ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction to require mandatory pre-commitment.”
Under the bill:
· The casino cannot operate more than 200 poker machines
· It must acquire authorisations through the existing trading scheme, but surrender one in three authorisations rather than the current one in four that applies to clubs
· At least half the authorisations must come from small or medium clubs
· It must adopt nation-leading harm minimisation measures including maximum bets and Australia’s first use of mandatory pre-commitment
· The casino will also be allowed to apply to operate up to 60 fully automated table game terminals, with authorisations to come through the trading scheme
The ACT Government remains committed to reducing the number of poker machines to 4000 by 2020.
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