The Tasmanian government has delayed initial plans to introduce cashless gaming system for the state’s poker machines before the end of the year.

However, it will move forward with other harm minimising measures including facial recognition technology and third-party exclusion.

The government has deferred “progress” on introducing a mandatory pre-commitment card. Tasmania, in an effort to minimise the potential for gambling-related harm, was going to introduce mandatory cards for poker machine gameplay with pre-set loss limits of up to AU$100 per day or AU$5,000 per year.

If the cashless wagering system, which has now been put on hold indefinitely, were to be implemented, Tasmania would become the first state in Australia with cashless gaming on pokies.

Decision based on report

The government said the decision was based on a report from MaxGaming, which is yet to be made public. MaxGaming is an operator of the state’s central monitoring system for electronic gaming machines.

The report’s findings show that the cashless system would significantly increase the costs and take longer to implement than previously presumed. This is due to the system’s complexity, which requires creating a centralised banking system.

Roger Jaensch, minister for community services, reiterated the government’s commitment to help people suffering from gambling-related harm.

“As part of this package, we will be increasing funding for wrap-around support services so that we can help those who need it. I’m committed to working with community service organisations to ensure the right support is available.” Jaensch said.

“We are committed to helping all Tasmanians who have problems with gambling addiction, and by developing a suite of harm minimisation measures, we are confident we can target and assist this small number of Tasmanians.”

Minister for small business and hospitality Jane Howlett, also reiterated the need to work on a broader set of harm minimisation measures and the government’s commitment to working with the industry to build them.

She said, “The Tasmanian Government has determined that implementing other harm minimisation measures is far more practicable, cost-effective for the Tasmanian taxpayer and guarantees that help will be available for those who need it far sooner,” she said.

“Tasmania has the lowest density of EGMs of any state, the lowest spend per capita on EGMs and the lowest prevalence of problem gambling with 0.4 per cent of our adult population having serious issues with gambling.

“However, we are firmly committed to supporting the Tasmanians that need our help.”

Response on the move

Responsible gambling charities and advocacy groups have been disappointed by the announcement. With the Alliance for Gambling Reform calling the plans “an inexcusable capitulation”.

The Alliance’s chief advocate, Tim Costello, said: “To claim that there are technological challenges to implementing this system is complete spin and misdirection. Crown Casino in Melbourne has now implemented a cashless card, they have proven the lie to those who claim it cannot be done.

“The government has effectively moved to protect the obscene super profits that are being made in Tasmania’s 90 poker machine venues – at the cost of the public of Tasmania who are being devastated by pokies losses.”

Costello said the government has squandered the chance for the state to lead in poker machine reform.

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