Eastern Commercial Lawyers

The elephant in the room - What steps has your Club taken to deal with Mandatory pre-commitment

23-May-2011
Most if not all Clubs would now be aware of the Federal Parliamentary Joint Select Committee report on gambling reform which was handed down in May 2011.

The chair of the committee was Mr Andrew Wilkie MP.

The report sets out in detail recommendations for the proposed design and implementation of a mandatory pre–commitment system for electronic gaming machines.

In recent times, there have been a number of legislative changes that have impacted on the viability and profitability of clubs but, suffice to say, this is a change that no club board or manager can ignore in their strategic and immediate plans if they are to secure the financial future of their own club.

Whilst the report makes 43 recommendations, most if not all with substantial impact on the club industry if implemented, recommendation 12 importantly provides for ”a mandatory pre-commitment scheme apply to all players of high intensity electronic gaming machines by 2014”

The report recommends that players set their own binding spending limit but it does not specify an upper limit. Any such players would be locked out once they hit their binding spending limit.

The report also sets out details for the establishment of a national regulatory authority to manage the implementation of the system.

It is important to note that the report provides for an exclusion in the case of small venues, particularly those in regional and rural areas with 15 machines or less, to the effect that such clubs will be allowed until 2018 to implement mandatory pre–commitment.

While the contents of the report are yet to be enacted, it is clear that political climate at this time means that most if not all of the recommendations are likely to be adopted by the Government in legislation, (if it is accepted that the current government will run it’s full term which becomes more likely each day). With respect to the report, Ms Gillard has stated “We’ll have a good look at it’s recommendations, but I’m very committed to acting to address problem gambling”

It is likely that the costs arising from implementation of requisite technology (and the broader impact of recommendations yet to be finalized such as proposed measures for identification, introduction of biometrics, national registration of player databases etc), will in short, have a significant adverse impact on Club revenues. In many cases, in all likelihood, clubs will face an uphill battle to meet the proposed changes.

Accordingly, there are a number of issues that this raises for Club management that require immediate attention.

Club Managers should if they have not already done so, consult with boards and develop contingencies concerning:
 

• Whether your club falls within definitions that will be effected by changes to be implemented in 2012 (for example, is your club defined as a smaller venue?)
• What proportion of your club’s gaming machines will be effected by the proposed changes?
• What are the likely impacts on your club’s revenue?
• What steps will you need to take to implement such changes in terms of resourcing and financing such change;
• What alternatives are their for diversification to mitigate against the impact on your club's revenue
• Is amalgamation an option to secure the viability of your Club

 
Tony Johnston is an expert legal adviser on Clubs and is happy to advise or assist Club Managers in any way required to meet these challenges.
 
Tony can be contacted on 0414 253 181 or by email on tony.johnston@eclawyers.com.au

Back