Over the 2015/16 financial year gamblers poured more than $2,600,000 at the Hepburn Shire’s 50 gaming machines. 

The paper will seek feedback from both the gambling industry and members of the community on issues surrounding prevention of harm to problem gamblers. 

The review will specifically focus on access to cash in gaming venues, cashless gaming systems, responsible gaming codes of conduct, self-exclusion programs, responsible service of gaming training and regional limits on poker machine numbers. 

Salvation Army Captain and Ballarat Action on Gambling Harm spokesperson Claire Emerton said both state and federal governments focused on addressing problem gamblers, when the real issues surrounded the industry itself.

“It’s about the industry and the machines, because we know they are not safe yet we keep trying to put the onus and the policy back onto the gamblers,” Ms Emerton said.  

“There’s a lot of research about how unsafe pokies are.” 

Ms Emerton is a long-time supporter of the introduction of $1 bet limits, a concept that has the support of notable gambling harm minimisation advocates such as Alliance for Gambling Reform spokesperson Tim Costello and independent senator Nick Xenephon.  

The Victorian limit is currently set at $5 per spin, however this differs at Melbourne’s Crown Casino.

Speaking in October, Mr Costello described pokies as “ravenous, addictive and fast,” and said the introduction of a new bet limit was crucial to addressing problem gambling. 

A government spokesperson said Victoria already had the lowest maximum bet in the country, and that “with this consultation we are now seeking feedback on other protection measures, in order to strike the right balance between protecting problem gamblers, and ensuring the current rules are up to date”.