Welfare Group in Tasmania Fights Problem Gambling With Restrictive Working Hours of Betting Venues

The Anglicare organization is trying to address problem gambling in Tasmania by requesting hotel and other types of gambling venues to close by 10 pm.

Another idea of the group is to initiate change in Australian gambling laws and slowly eliminate poker machines from all locations in Tasmania by 2018.

These suggestions came after a gambling impact study was commissioned by the State Government.

The problem

Reverend Chris Jones, chief executive of the association commented that these ideas will help reducing the number of problem gamblers in the island state.

“We still have problem gamblers in Tasmania and we need to do something to protect them and to protect their families. There's a whole range of things that we say the industry could do if they wanted to join us in protecting Tasmanians.”

Another recommendation, which will affect Australian poker rooms in Tasmania, suggests that the State Government should not renew the exclusive deal with Federal Hotels, which currently operates over 3,500 poker machines in different sites.

Jones said: “The deed with the Federal Hotels group comes up in a few years time, we need to start the conversation now. We actually need to be saying to one another now ‘do we actually want this to continue or do we want to put a stop to it’.”