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Report: Cut Australian Casino Hours, Pokies

AUSTRALIA – As reported by the Australian: "The opening hours of clubs and pubs with poker machines should be cut and maximum bets reduced by up to 90 per cent to reduce problem gambling in Victoria, a new report says.

"Seventy-eight per cent of the problem gamblers surveyed for the report supported a reduction in the maximum bet on poker machines from the current $10 to less than a $1.

"…The report, Problem Gamblers, Loved Ones and Service Providers, is the first of its kind to interview problem gamblers who had not sought counselling or other forms of help.

"The respondents, more than 50 per cent of whom play poker machines daily, also believe that ATMs should be banned at gambling venues. Ninety-six per cent agreed it would help them curb their losses.

"Eighty-five per cent of the problem gamblers supported a reduction in the opening hours of pub and club venues, many of them located near their homes in Melbourne's most disadvantaged areas…"

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