Victoria set to debate toughest poker machine reforms in Australia

Australian politician Jacinta Allan, who is the current premier of Victoria, is reportedly under pressure to speed up major poker machine reforms that could set a national precedent, with advocates arguing the changes will provide much-needed protections for problem gamblers. However, not everyone’s on board, as there’s strong pushback from the pokies industry and the state opposition.

The push comes after former gaming minister Melissa Horne introduced the Gambling Legislation Amendment (Precommitment and Carded Play) Bill 2024 to parliament. The move follows up on a commitment made by the then-Premier Daniel Andrews in 2023.

At the time, he called them “the strongest gambling harm preventions and anti-money laundering measures in Australia”.

According to ABC News, the bill lays the groundwork for a new system called carded play, meaning anyone using a poker machine will need to insert a player card to play. It is set to be debated in parliament this week. According to the Allan government, a three-month trial will kick off in 40 venues starting mid-year to test out the system.

Once rolled out, mandatory carded play will be launched across all 26,000 poker machines in the state by the end of 2027. The plan is to bring all poker machines in line with Crown Melbourne, the state’s only casino. Crown introduced mandatory carded play late last year and says over 500,000 people have already signed up.

In the previous financial year, Victorians lost nearly AU $7.4 billion ($47 billion) to gambling, with AU $4 billion ($2.5 billion) of that spent on the pokies.

Horne said AU $3 billion ($1.9 billion) was lost by Victorians every year through poker machines.

She stated: “We’ve got less than 10% of the population playing poker machines. This is less people than ever before but they’re losing more than ever before, and where people are losing the most money is in our lowest socioeconomic areas.

“So there’s something wrong.”

Australia’s Alliance for Gambling Reform said that pokies were one of the elements “driving the crisis.”

Pokies and online sports gambling, designed for immersion and addiction, are driving this crisis. With relentless gambling promotions and easy access, we’re failing young people. It’s time for urgent regulation to protect them.

— Alliance for Gambling Reform (@ReformGambling) March 17, 2025

One of Australia’s most well-known anti-gambling advocates, Tim Costello, seems to have softened his stance on Crown since it introduced mandatory carded play, saying, “The truth is that they are now the most responsible gambling provider in our city. The carded play was a game changer.

“Their social license, I think, is intact.”

However, the Victorian opposition isn’t on board with mandatory precommitment, saying they’re not convinced it will actually help reduce gambling harm. In a statement issued in 2023, Danny O’Brien said: “I do raise a concern, though, that there is often a much, much bigger focus on gaming machines than there is on gambling harm full stop, because gambling harm comes in a whole range of types.”

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