ACT Gambling Reforms Target Poker Machines with Cashless Gaming and Long-term cuts
The Australian Capital Territory is preparing a sweeping overhaul of poker-machine regulation, with mandatory account-based cashless gaming, player loss limits and a legislated reduction in gaming-machine numbers forming the centrepieces of the proposed package.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government is moving ahead with a broad gambling-law reform package that would fundamentally change how poker machines operate across Canberra, including mandatory cashless gaming, compulsory breaks in play and a long-term reduction in the territory’s gaming-machine supply.
The proposed reforms are due to be introduced to the ACT Legislative Assembly this week. While several measures would require legislative approval, the government plans to implement some changes separately, including restrictions on cash withdrawals from gaming venues.
The package is being positioned by the ACT government as a major intervention aimed at reducing gambling-related harm while giving community clubs more time and support to develop alternative sources of revenue.
Cashless gaming to become mandatory
Under the proposed framework, players using poker machines in ACT venues would need a venue account and an associated player card.
The system would incorporate mandatory pre-commitment, requiring players to establish a maximum loss limit before gambling. Players would also receive activity information showing how much they have put into machines and how much they have lost.
The reforms would also require clubs to interrupt continuous play with a 15-minute break after every hour spent on a poker machine.
For operators, the shift represents a significant change from conventional cash-based electronic gaming toward an account-based model in which gambling activity is more directly linked to individual player accounts.
However, the ACT government has decided not to introduce a central monitoring system connecting gaming machines and venues across the territory.
Gaming Reform Minister Marisa Paterson said the government considered the cost of such a system disproportionate given the ACT's relatively small gaming-machine market and its objective of reducing the number of machines over time.
Poker-machine numbers set for long-term reduction
A central element of the proposed legislation is a statutory pathway to reduce the number of authorised poker machines in the ACT to 1,000 by 2045.
The government plans to mandate reductions of 500 machines every four years as part of the 20-year reduction schedule.
The target builds on an existing reduction programme.
ACT government figures show that gaming-machine authorisations fell from 4,956 in 2018 to 3,494 by May 2025 after a voluntary surrender programme. The scheme paid venues to surrender gaming-machine authorisations as part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on gambling revenue.
The government has previously said that reaching the 1,000-machine target would require the club sector to diversify its revenue base and develop alternative uses for its assets.
Restrictions on cash access
The proposed reforms would also tighten access to cash around poker-machine gambling.
The ACT government plans to prohibit EFTPOS and ATM withdrawals for gambling-related purposes at venues. According to ABC reporting, legislation covering the EFTPOS withdrawal ban is expected to be written in October, with the measure becoming effective immediately once enacted.
Gaming-machine operating hours would also be reduced by 15 hours per week, with that change scheduled to take effect from July 1, 2027.
The staggered implementation means operators will face several compliance milestones rather than a single implementation date.
Self-exclusion system to be reworked
The ACT is also proposing a major overhaul of its self-exclusion framework.
The current process, which relies substantially on paperwork, would be replaced with a centrally managed system incorporating a simpler online application process.
The government says the new framework would establish self-exclusion as a legislated system rather than relying on the existing arrangements, which have faced questions about their clarity and effectiveness.
Mandatory bet limits and enforced exclusion from gaming areas are not included in the current package.
The government has cited technological limitations as one reason those measures are not being pursued at this stage. Instead, the reforms focus on account-based pre-commitment, player activity statements, breaks in play and restrictions on access to cash.
Clubs face a transition away from gambling revenue
The regulatory changes are likely to have consequences beyond gaming-machine operations because poker-machine revenue has historically been an important component of the ACT community-club model.
The government therefore intends to establish a transition committee to help clubs adjust to the reduction in gaming revenue.
Part of the proposed transition framework would explore ways for clubs to diversify their property and business activities, including opportunities involving housing and aged-care facilities.
The approach follows an independent inquiry into the future of the ACT club industry, which was established to examine ways clubs could reduce their reliance on gambling income while maintaining their broader community functions.
The ACT government's previous policy work has also identified alternative uses of club-owned land, including affordable housing, aged care and build-to-rent developments, as potential diversification opportunities.
For the B2B gaming sector, that creates a regulatory environment in which operators and technology suppliers will need to account not only for player-protection requirements but also for the longer-term contraction of the machine market.
Reform package faces legislative test
Most elements of the reform package still depend on approval by the 25-member ACT Legislative Assembly.
The government is expected to seek crossbench support when the legislation is considered, while some components have separate implementation timelines.
The immediate regulatory focus will therefore be on how the Assembly responds to the proposed mandatory cashless-gaming framework and the legislated machine-reduction schedule.
If enacted, the reforms would reinforce a longer-term shift in the ACT away from reliance on electronic gaming machines and toward a more tightly controlled, account-based gambling environment.
For Australia's broader gambling industry, the ACT will provide another closely watched example of how cashless gaming, pre-commitment and machine-reduction policies can be combined within a land-based gambling market.
What the ACT Gambling Reforms mean for the gaming industry
The proposed changes carry several implications for operators and suppliers:
Cashless gaming: Gaming-machine play would move to mandatory account-based participation.
Player controls: Players would be required to establish maximum loss limits and receive activity statements.
Mandatory breaks: Continuous poker-machine play would be interrupted after every hour by a 15-minute break.
Cash restrictions: EFTPOS and ATM withdrawals connected to gambling would be restricted.
Machine supply: The ACT would legislate a pathway toward 1,000 poker machines by 2045.
Operating hours: Gaming-machine operating time would be reduced by 15 hours per week from July 2027.
Self-exclusion: The existing process would be replaced by a centrally managed, online-oriented framework.
Club diversification: Community clubs would receive support to develop alternative revenue streams and uses for their property assets.
The reforms remain proposals until the relevant legislation is passed. Their final scope and implementation timetable will depend on the legislative process in the ACT.
Source attribution: This article is based primarily on reporting by ABC News on September 15, 2026, alongside ACT Government material concerning the territory's gaming-machine reduction and community-club transition policies.
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