Commission urges crackdown on problem gambling | Business Breaking News | News.com.au

problem gamblers make up about 10 per cent of those. But the share of money that problem gamblers feed into the pokies accounts for around 40 per cent of $12 billion figure. The commission said while progress on problem gambling had been made over the past decade, governments could do more to make gaming machines safer. It recommends a limit of $1 per bet on all pokies, to limit the amount people can lose each hour to $120, and a $20 cash limit that a person can put into a poker machine at any given time. It calls for a universal "opt-out" system that allows people to set the amount of money and time they spend gambling. Cash machines located near pokie machines should only be able to distribute a maximum of $200 per card per day and all prize money should be paid in cheques not cash, the report says. The commission wants the restrictions in place by 2016.