Brimbank Council has welcomed stronger gambling harm protections in Victoria, following sweeping reforms announced by the Victorian Government on 16 July 2023.
The reforms are designed to prevent gambling harm and anti-money laundering. These include reducing the number of operating hours for gaming venues, aligning gaming venue closing hours across the State and introducing a carded mandatory pre-commitment scheme.
Reducing gambling harm is a priority for Council, which has the highest losses to electronic gaming machines of any Victorian local government area with community losses of $128 million in 2021/22.
Council has been advocating for gambling reform over a period of years. Advocacy on the issue has been led by Mayors and Councillors, who have met regularly with local MPs and Ministers for Gambling.
In addition, Council has tabled several motions at conferences of the Municipal Association of Victoria, most recently in May 2023, to bring attention to the impacts and harms of gambling harm in local government areas.
While the Victorian Government gambling reforms will go a long way to minimising the detrimental social and economic impacts of gambling, there are a number of additional reforms that would contribute to further harm reduction.
Council urges the Victorian Government to consider extending the reforms to include additional measures, such as:
Council has worked with the Alliance for Gambling Reform and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation to advocate for stronger reforms and increase community awareness of gambling harm.
The reforms are designed to prevent gambling harm and anti-money laundering. These include reducing the number of operating hours for gaming venues, aligning gaming venue closing hours across the State and introducing a carded mandatory pre-commitment scheme.
Reducing gambling harm is a priority for Council, which has the highest losses to electronic gaming machines of any Victorian local government area with community losses of $128 million in 2021/22.
Council has been advocating for gambling reform over a period of years. Advocacy on the issue has been led by Mayors and Councillors, who have met regularly with local MPs and Ministers for Gambling.
In addition, Council has tabled several motions at conferences of the Municipal Association of Victoria, most recently in May 2023, to bring attention to the impacts and harms of gambling harm in local government areas.
While the Victorian Government gambling reforms will go a long way to minimising the detrimental social and economic impacts of gambling, there are a number of additional reforms that would contribute to further harm reduction.
Council urges the Victorian Government to consider extending the reforms to include additional measures, such as:
- bring forward the closing time to 12am
- lower the daily EFTPOS withdrawal limit to $200
- decrease the maximum bet to $1 per spin, and
- the introduction of a ‘sinking cap’ whereby gaming machines are not replaced once entitlements have been forfeited.
Council has worked with the Alliance for Gambling Reform and the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation to advocate for stronger reforms and increase community awareness of gambling harm.
Quotes to be attributed to Brimbank Mayor Cr Bruce Lancashire:
“The announcement by Premier Dan Andrews and Minister for Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Melissa Horne is a welcome one. These reforms will help to reduce the gambling harm in communities such as Brimbank where the impact is significant.
“We’ve been talking in Brimbank as a community about the harms and damage caused by gambling for a long time. My thoughts are with everyone who has experience of gambling harm, and we should acknowledge that these reforms have been a long time coming.”