Victorian Greens Party targets poker machines

The investigation on Crown Melbourne casino for allegedly rigging machines and laundering money could impact poker machines licenses in Victoria.

The Victorian Greens party is back at it again and wants to get the extension of the licenses of poker machines to be suspended. They argue that the process shouldn’t continue while the Crown Melbourne casino is investigated for allegedly rigging machines and laundering money.

The Greens are promoting a piece of legislation that would freeze the addition of more poker machines in Victoria, whilst also setting a limit on the amounts players will be allowed to withdraw per day and regulating gambling advertising in public spaces.

According to the Alliance for Gambling Reform, the bill that’s being discussed in the upper house and that would extend licenses until 2042 would lock gambling renue of US$53.6 billion, causing losses of just as much to gamblers in the next 25 years. However, the Greens Party wants to stop any discussion on the matter, at least while Crown Melbourne is under investigation for charges they have emphatically denied.

Nonetheless, Marlene Kairouz, Victoria’s Gaming Minister, said that neither the investigation nor Crown allegations won’t affect the poker machines bill and advanced that lawmakers will change some things about gaming device handling in the state.