The Australian state of Victoria will miss its original 2013 deadline for pre-commitment technology on slot machines.
According to the Age, the state government says it is still committed to voluntary pre-commitment by 2016. However, it is no longer “technically feasible” to have pre-commitment by 2013.
Voluntary pre-commitment would allow players to set a loss limit or a time limit on their slot play. Once the set limit is reached, the player would be locked out of play for a specified period.
Victoria was supposed to have the technology within individual gaming venues by 2013. By that time, a player who had reached his or her set limit would not be able to continue play at another machine within the venue. By 2015-16 the technology was to have linked all slots statewide, which would prevent a player from circumventing a pre-set limit by going to a different venue.
Emily Broadbent, a spokeswoman for Victoria Gaming Minister Michael O’Brien, said the state government had been forced to abandon its timeline because the national government had not yet clarified with legislation technical standards for state pre-commitment systems.
The change in policy comes just weeks after Prime Minister Julia Gillard scrapped her deal with Independent MP Andrew Wilkie for mandatory nationwide pre-commitment.
Instead, the government intends to run a trial of pre-commitment in the Australian Capital Territory, with the eventual goal of extending the system to all slot machines in Australia.
