THE ACT government is proposing to lower the bet limit on poker machines in Canberra from $10 to $5 and introduce a $100 load-up limit.

The proposal involves an IT “central monitoring system” that would connect gaming machines to a network to allow for their monitoring and control and would slow down the speed at which money can be spent and lost by a person playing.

The new credit limit would also introduce breaks in play that may allow a person to reconsider whether they want to keep spending money on the machine.

Gaming Minister Shane Rattenbury says reducing the bet limit to $5 would halve the amount of money a person could theoretically spend and lose in one hour of play from $12,000 to $6,000.

Initial estimates suggest installation costs for the system would be between $11-18 million.

Currently, ACT law does not set a credit limit for electronic gaming machines operating in the ACT. In practice, gaming machines have a credit limit of either $10,000, $7,500 or $5,000.

The government says they will meet with licensed gaming machine operators, the Community Clubs Ministerial Advisory Council and harm reduction advocates with the discussion focusing on detailed implementation, further development of cost models, and how the transition should be managed.

“In 2018-19, nearly $2 billion was spent on poker machines by the ACT Community, with $166.9 million retained by venues after paying out winnings. In that context, we believe a sustainable path can be agreed to fund this transition,” said Mr Rattenbury.

The government has released a discussion paper that can be found here and will introduce a draft bill as part of the consultation process.