The Government’s plan to adopt mandatory pre-commitment systems for high intensity poker machines have attracted strong opposition from Andrew Demetriou, the Chief Executive of Australian Football League.
The government aims to limit poker machines losses by problem gamblers, as part of its agreement with key crossbench MP Andrew Wilkie to secure minority government.
Demetriou said the league estimated AFL club revenue from poker machines would fall by 20 to 40 percent if mandatory pre-commitment was introduced. On the other hand, Senator Nick Xenophon, who is leading Wilkie’s legal team on a pro-bono basis, attacked Demetriou and Wilkie stating that he will withdraw his support for the Gillard government, threatening its survival, if the poker legislation is not passed.
Under the new plan poker machines will be reprogrammed to cap losses at $120 an hour rather than $1200 an hour, while “lower intensity” machines will not require any form of pre-commitment. “Eighty-eight per cent of Australians who play the poker machines won’t be affected in any way,” he said.
Wilkie found opponents such as the AFL and its chief, that always ignored the fact poker machines offering bets of $1 or less would require no pre-commitment. Thus the AFL wanted to help raise awareness around problem gambling and actually tackle that issue, not by putting sports clubs in jeopardy.
Chief executive of Afl wants to prevent Wilkie from imposing the new measure, but Wilkie is supported by Senator Xenophon, who stated that Andrew Wilkie is fearless.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
