Matt O’Hara, CEO of Oak Flats Bowling Club and state councillor for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Zone of Clubs NSW was pleased that Prime Minister Julia Gillard was “backing away” from her promise to introduce a mandatory pre-commitment scheme for using poker machines.

The Prime Minister earlier this week announced a watered-down plan to tackle problem gambling, including a trial of mandatory pre-commitment technology in the ACT.

This backs away from a deal struck with Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie to legislate the reforms by May and roll out the technology by 2014.

Mr O’Hara believed Mr Wilkie and the government were starting to realise that not enough research had been done on mandatory pre-commitment.

However, he rejected an alternative proposal, backed by senator Nick Xenophon, for maximum bet limits of $1.

“There’s no research, no idea if it helps problem gamblers,” he said.

“What we don’t like is politicians shooting their mouths off just to get a headline.”

Mr O’Hara referred to the $1 maximum bet as “just policy on the run”, citing a study undertaken a decade ago and funded by Clubs NSW on $1 maximum bets, which found that just 7.5 per cent of participating problem gamblers bet more than $1 per spin.

“We’re not opposed to working with the government or helping problem gamblers; but let’s get the right solution that actually helps them, based on research and evidence,” he said.

“There’s over 45,000 employees in clubs in NSW. That’s a lot of livelihoods at risk when the government throws these policies around willy-nilly.”

Federal Member for Throsby Stephen Jones dismissed claims of “policy on the run”, citing the two-year investigation by the Productivity Commission into electronic gambling and poker machines.

“They recommended pre-commitment as the best technology and the best approach,” he said.

“The Commission didn’t see a $1 limit as the best course of action.

“As far as my position, I take this Productivity Commission report as a starting point, but it’s never been trialed anywhere.

“If it’s to proceed we need a proper, robust trial first.”

Mr Jones said the government was no less motivated to address problem gambling.

“Two of the crossbench independents are signalling they won’t support a national rollout of mandatory pre-commitment... It may be that he’s (Mr Wilkie) going to compromise and look at the nature of that compromise.”