ACT will require pokies players to verify ID and set spending caps
The ACT Government has introduced legislation requiring poker machine players to create identity-verified accounts and set spending limits before gambling.
The ACT Gaming Machine bill tightens control over gambling through mandatory account-based cashless gaming and identity verification for every player. Under the new system, gamblers must set a spending limit in advance and receive statements showing how much they have spent.
Venues with poker machines will lose ATMs, and EFTPOS cash withdrawals will be restricted. The government will also cut gaming machine licences from just under 3500 to no more than 1000 by 2045, requiring at least 500 surrenders every four years.
The reforms follow two years of consultation and are designed to cut gambling harm in the short term while reducing machines over decades. About 58,000 Canberrans experience some level of gambling harm.
The bill includes mandatory breaks in play and will link to the self-exclusion register to block excluded players from using machines.
- just under 3500
- Current licences
- no more than 1000
- Target licences by 2045
- at least 500
- Required surrenders per four years
- about 58,000
- Canberrans with gambling harm
Why it mattersGamblers will face stronger barriers to chasing losses with cash and more visibility over their spending; the steady reduction in machines will make venues less reliant on gambling revenue.
AustraliaCanberrans will see stricter gambling protections by mid-2027, including account-based play and fewer poker machines over the next two decades, reducing harm to families and improving club viability through diversification.
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