ACT government backs off eftpos ban in clubs but limits cash out for gamblers

There will be no limit on the number of times gamblers can return to eftpos machines, but clubs say the break from playing the pokies to get more cash will give gamblers time to reflect on whether they want to continue.

The government was considering banning cash from eftpos altogether, given gamblers can still get $250 a day from ATM machines in clubs, but has backed off the move.

The compromise, to take effect on September 1, was welcomed by Canberra Community Clubs chairman Athol Chalmers, who said it struck a "good balance" between limiting harm for gamblers, the "health" of club businesses and the impact on other club patrons who wanted to access cash.

He said the $200-a-transaction limit would make a difference.

"The evidence does show that setting those sorts of limits causes people to go out of the gaming machine room to go and get more cash and it's an opportunity to reflect on, do I really want to go and get more money," he said. "Yes, they can keep going back and getting more, but there's a break. They can't just go and get $1000."

Mr Chalmers said a ban would have been "disproportionate to the issue" because it would have affected other patrons who wanted to withdraw money from eftpos without attracting the $2.50 ATM fee.

Problem gambler Laurie Brown, who sparked the crackdown on eftpos after revealing in May that she had lost as much as $230,000 on poker machines in Raiders clubs, also welcomed the move, saying it would make a difference.

Prof Brown, who withdrew $3000 or more on some nights, said she withdrew money in amounts of $400-$600 at a time, and a $200 limit could have halved her losses. She would have been too self-conscious to return to make more withdrawals, given the need to approach staff.

"As an addicted gambler I don't have the internal capacities and controls to stop gambling, so I need this external influence," she said. "That would have got me to think about what I was doing."

Prof Brown has made a complaint against the Raiders, with the investigation expected to go to the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission board next week.

Under the changes, clubs would also be limited to dispensing cash from just one eftpos machine or terminal. Separately, they will still be allowed ATM machines, which are limited to $250 a day.

Mr Ramsay defended the compromise position, saying the government had taken into consideration safety for people who would otherwise leave clubs to withdraw large amounts of cash at outside eftpos machines. There was "no single silver bullet", but the new restrictions would make overspending less likely because people would need to take a break, and interact with a trained staff member to get cash.

Mr Ramsay refused to answer questions about why he had briefed the government's favoured industry group Canberra Community Clubs about the changes, but failed to brief Clubs ACT, which Chief Minister Andrew Barr has blackbanned since it waged a campaign against the government at the last election.

The Greens' Shane Rattenbury also said there was "no silver bullet", but the eftpos limits were a practical and positive change, in "a very fertile space" for poker machine reform.

Clubs ACT chairwoman Kim Marshall argued for a cash limit rather than a ban, saying a ban would simply push gamblers to outside eftpos machines, where they could also access cash from credit cards, and where they would be less safe and have no staff contact. A ban would hit patrons that were not problem gamblers, she said.

In Victoria, when ATMs were banned in 2012, poker machine spending fell 7 per cent, she said. Victoria allows eftpos withdrawals up to $200.

The government also tabled a bill to cut taxes by 50 per cent for clubs which earn less than $4 million from poker machines a year. Mr Chalmers said the tax rebate was significant, worth "a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year" to a club such as his.