Pokies reform advocates are describing it as one of the most significant steps in gambling harm reduction in Australia, so how will Tasmania's mandatory pre-commitment scheme work, and what does it mean for other states and territories?
Ever since the 2010 deal between federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie and former prime minister Julia Gillard to introduce a similar scheme nationwide fell flat, states and territories have been reluctant to make much change.
But Tasmania — a state where gaming reform has been politically charged for decades — has taken the lead, planning to bring in a mandatory card-based scheme for all players by the end of 2024.
Players will need to set daily loss limits of up to $100, monthly limits of up to $500 and annual limits of up to $5,000, which can only be set higher should the person have a proven capacity to afford it.
Once the limit is reached, the player will have to wait until the next period starts before they can play again.
One of the biggest surprises is that the decision has come from a Liberal government, which just four years ago — with support from the hospitality lobby — fought a hotly contested election campaign to defeat Labor's policy of removing pokies from pubs and clubs.
While Tasmania is the smallest state, and its 3,399 poker machines in 95 venues are dwarfed by its mainland counterparts, the decision is set to send shock waves through the gaming sector nationwide.
Why is Tasmania acting now?
Tasmania has one of Australia's most curious gambling landscapes.
Hobart is home to the country's first casino — Wrest Point, opened in 1973 — which was followed by Country Club Tasmania in Launceston in 1982, largely a result of the state's north-south rivalry.
Both casinos are owned and operated by Federal Group, a NSW-based gaming company whose owner Greg Farrell and family had an estimated $564 million in wealth in 2021, the majority of which came from their Tasmanian gambling interests.
Pokies were legalised in Tasmania in 1993 and Federal Group was granted a monopoly licence to operate all poker machines in pubs and clubs — a deal that is set to end next year, when venues can get their own licences.
To compensate, former premier Peter Gutwein agreed to slash the tax rate on Federal Group's poker machines in their casinos from 25.8 per cent to 10.9 per cent.
But it opened up an opportunity for broader reform, and after vigorous debate, newly minted Treasurer Michael Ferguson agreed to make the state's gambling regulator investigate two harm minimisation options: pre-commitment technology and facial recognition for venues.
This week, that report was made public: mandatory pre-commitment was seen as the only way to go.
It would cost $12 million to fully implement — or $3,200 per machine — and could involve the use of loyalty card readers, which some machines already have.
Mr Ferguson accepted the recommendations.
How does this compare to other states?
Tasmania's decision comes at a time when gaming interests are facing intense public scrutiny in multiple states — particularly The Star in Sydney, and Crown in Melbourne and Perth.
Pokies reform might have taken a back seat, but the issue has been ever-present.
Last year, in his role as NSW liquor and gaming minister, Victor Dominello planned to introduce a mandatory cashless debit card for pokies in an attempt to address money laundering.
In NSW, players can put $5,000 cash into machines at any one time, then immediately "cash out" and get a slip that can be taken to the counter and the money returned.
It can be passed off as a big pokies win, if the police ask, with no paper trail.
Despite initially having strong support from Premier Dominic Perrottet, Mr Dominello was stripped of the portfolio in December, with suspicions the government feared the impact of a gaming lobby-led campaign in his marginal seat.
In Victoria, the "YourPlay" voluntary pre-commitment scheme has operated since 2015, but a report found it only accounted for 0.01 per cent of gaming machine turnover.
Crown has a mandatory card-based loyalty scheme for its unrestricted pokies that spin continuously, and a recent royal commission recommended mandatory pre-commitment apply for all of its poker machines.
Queensland has far more poker machines than Victoria, but whereas Victoria has a load-up limit of $1,000, Queensland's is just $100. This is also an attempt to limit money laundering.
South Australia has fewer machines, and like Tasmania, they are coin operated, which limits money laundering, but the state's only significant harm minimisation is the ability for people to get their family members put on an exclusion scheme.
Western Australia only has pokies in casinos, but it has also had mandatory pre-commitment recommended.
Northern Territory has minimal harm minimisation, but the ACT has some appetite to bring in measures.
One key issue in Canberra, however, is the way in which the Labor Party-owned Labor Club profits heavily from pokies.
Industry gearing up for a fight
It's early days, but gaming interests already seem to be preparing to fight Tasmania's decision.
The Tasmanian Hospitality Association accused the government of reneging on its promises from 2018 — and again in 2020 — claiming it was an attack on "freedom of choice".
"The Liberal government has declared it will decide how Tasmanians spend their money and how Tasmanians consume their entertainment," THA chief executive officer Steve Old said.
Federal Group has chosen not to comment on the proposal, but in a submission earlier this year, the company argued against pre-commitment as it could affect "patron choice".
Instead, Federal Group advocated for a platform that would allow venue staff to observe "at-risk" behaviour from players, to then be followed up by a "timely venue response".
The company also supported facial recognition in venues.
About $11.4 billion was lost on poker machines across five mainland states — excluding WA — in the last financial year.
The proportion of losses coming from problem gamblers has long been a source of debate, especially in Tasmania.
The THA says that only 0.4 per cent of Tasmanians have a problem with gambling, and the government is punishing the 99.6 per cent.
This is an interpretation of the 2021 Social and Economic Impact Study of Gambling in Tasmania, which found 6.4 per cent of Tasmanians were at least of some risk of gambling harm.
That study also found that 12 per cent of pokies players are either moderate risk — those who describe themselves as being late on bills, neglecting family or work responsibilities due to their gambling — or problem gamblers.
Nine per cent of Tasmanians played the pokies at least once a year. Of those, 35 per cent played one to three times a month.
And 40 per cent of Tasmania's pokies venues are in the 10 council areas with the highest level of disadvantage.
Monash University gambling expert associate professor Charles Livingstone said mandatory pre-commitment should not be seen as restricting player choice.
"It's not a restriction on people's liberties, it's actually a tool to manage something that is highly addictive. We know that pokies gambling is highly addictive," he said.
