Nation-Leading Pre-Commitment Card – ABANDONDED

Independent Member for Nelson Meg Webb said today the Rockliff Government has formalized its capitulation to the gambling lobby with its repeal of the Ministerial Direction to implement the nation-leading pokies mandatory pre-commitment card in favour of industry-backed watered-down measures.

“The repeal by the Rockliff Government of former Minister Ferguson’s directive to implement a gold standard mandatory pre-commitment card is a deeply disturbing development, which risks entrenching ongoing pokies harm across the Tasmanian community,” Ms Webb said.

“This is a blatant capitulation by Government to gambling lobby interests”

“It beggars belief that we are deliberately abandoning our nation-leading precommitment card, which the Government’s own commissioned Deloitte review, released in January, gave a glowing assessment finding the proposed card would both cut harm while also driving economic growth and creating potentially hundreds of jobs.

“Despite the Deloitte assessment, the Premier has inexplicably decided to turn his back upon evidence-based reforms and instead resorted to measures which at best will provide superficial changes and at worst will drive deeper and greater harm.”

Ms Webb said as predicted and warned, the move to an individual venue license model in 2023 has seen a highly concerning trending up of pokies losses in Tasmania.

“At the current rate, the total losses for 2025-26 will be well over $200 million, presenting a significant and disturbing jump on the previous year’s losses.

“Evidence tells us around half these losses come from people being harmed by pokies addiction. That is indisputable.

“It is shameful, incomprehensible and fundamentally irresponsible for the Rockliff Government to abandon the promised gold-standard pokies pre-commitment card.

“The card was guaranteed to both cut harm while also benefitting the State economically.

“Instead, we move to industry-dictated measures that will cause more harm.”

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