Vic rolls out pokies pre-commitment tech

VICTORIA IS THE FIRST STATE TO FULLY IMPLEMENT A POKIES PRE-COMMITMENT SCHEME

WHAT IS IT?

* Voluntary, opt-in scheme for pokies players who get a personal account and swipe card

* Players can set limits on time or dollars lost for each pokies session

* Tracks and displays overall time spent, and pokies losses

* Pre-commitment swipe card technology installed on all poker machines in Victoria

HOW DOES IT WORK?

* User swipes card before each session and then sets limits

* Alert and personalised message displayed at 70 per cent and 90 per cent of player's limit

* Poker machine temporarily disabled when limit is reached

* 24-hour wait applies when limits increased during play

PROBLEM GAMBLING IN VICTORIA:

* 35,563 problem gamblers in Victoria, or less than one per cent of the population

* No improvement in problem gambling rate from 2008 to 2014

* Problem gamblers played the pokies on average 87 times in 2014, up from 56 in 2008

* Moderate-risk gamblers also increased pokies frequency

* Pokies use overall went down while betting on racing and events increased

Source: Study of Gambling and Health in Victoria, November 2015