ACT Government investigates CMS proposal

In an effort to reduce harms associated with poker machines, the Australian Central Territory Government is gathering information about a potential central monitoring system.

It is proposed that the CMS could connect all poker machines in the Territory to monitor them and enable the consistent rollouts of harm reduction initiatives such as bet and load-up limits, a universal player card to support a more effective self-exclusion system, and the monitoring of criminal activity such as money laundering.

On Thursday March 14, the ACT Government began a four-week “market sounding” to gather further information.

“The ACT Government is firmly committed to reducing harm from gambling. A central monitoring system offers substantial potential to implement national-leading measures to limit gambling losses and improve self-exclusion,” said Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Gaming.

“The ACT needs additional measures to reduce the harm cause by gambling. We’re currently the only jurisdiction without a CMS in place. We need to get the measures in place that will allow best practice harm reduction – for example, a loss-limit scheme similar to the Tasmanian Government’s model, which prevents players losing more than set amounts.”