As a potential solution to problem gambling, the Australian Prime Minister wants to use biometric smart cards and flash drives to operate poker machines and monitor gambling limits by 2014, according to a Port Macquarie News article.
The suggested solution would operate on fingerprint recognition, however, some of the politicians involved in the decisions feel that such measures could be seen as an invasion of privacy and realistically do very little to help problem gamblers.
Among some of the chief concerns would be that such a small fraction of people using the machines are actual problem gamblers that moving to a pre-committed program, where users of machines have to enroll to use them, would likely just keep responsible users away.
Additionally, fears have been raised regarding whether such a program would simply compile a database of poker players.
Read the full story here. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/thirdfactor-4.gif)
The reform for a special ID connected pre-commitment card for pokies/slots gamblers is found to more actively prevent gambling over-spending and also could prevent addiction.
It is effectively a licensing system that is LONG overdue for gamblers!
Singapore has brought in a license AND fee-based system for all its local casino gamblers t ocover social costs of gambling...and why that system is being ignored by Australia, NZ and the US is puzzling. It works....and could be used in conjunction with consumer setting of spending limits as Australia has proposed.
We license our fishermen, to protect fish....so why not license our slots gamblers...to protect other innocent fanily and tax payers etc?
Of course those with a vested interest in slots etc would find a problem...but wh yshould we listen to them when we KNOW that gambling COSTS us triple or more what is makes for governments?