New Gambling Card In Australia Aimed At Setting Betting Limits

The country of Australia is taking a pro-active approach to help people who may be in danger of having a gambling problem. They are unveiling a plan that would utilize cards with spending limits in their poker machines.

Poker machines are a popular choice of gambling in South Australia. They are legal in pubs and people can be found playing the games at all hours while the pubs are open.

The government has come up with an idea that they will be trying out next month. They will be issuing cards that can be preset with amounts that a person can spend in a day. The amounts would be predetermined by the player.

"I'd reinforce the point it's a tool for all gamblers-it's not necessarily a tool for people who have problems with their gambling. It's a tool that can be used by all gamblers to pre-commitment and set limits on their expenditure and it's certainly a trial worth undertaking here in South Australia," said SA Gambling Minister Paul Caica.

The company that operates J-Card will be the same company that will be running the trial. The people that use the card will be setting their limits, then when they reach those limits they will be alerted.



2008-07-23