Standard closure hours would have minimised gambling harm: Chris Jones
August 12, 2026
The Tasmanian Government has walked away from gambling harm minimisation again.
In June 2026, the Tasmanian Government announced its alternative ‘harm minimisation’ measures to be implemented by 2028 under Ministerial Direction (No 1) of 2026 to the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission.
This included increasing the mandatory closure period for venues with gaming areas from 4 hours to 7 hours per 24 hour period.
The Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission determined to apply a standard closure period, requiring venues operating gaming areas to be closed between 2am and 9am each day. This is in line with other jurisdictions and would ensure players could not move from one venue to another to continue gambling in the early hours of the morning. This change to the TLGC Rules would have come into effect on 1 August 2026.
On 29 July 2026, the Treasurer amended the Ministerial Direction to make standard closure hours impossible. Without standard closure hours, the measure will have minimal impact on reducing gambling harm, as venues can stagger their opening hours.
Shame and stigma must move away from individuals experiencing gambling harm, and towards industry behaviour which enables it.
Electronic Gaming Machines are the most harmful form of gambling in Tasmania.
In September 2022 the Tasmanian Government committed to introducing a universal player card gambling system for Electronic Gaming Machines by December 2024. This commitment would have delivered on recommendations made by the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission after extensive research and consultation.
Anglicare Tasmania strongly supports the implementation of a universal mandatory precommitment card system for Electronic Gaming Machines. Our research, based on the evidence, shows that a pre-commitment card applying to all people using Electronic Gaming Machines with default loss limits, a single system across all venues, and a single card per person would be effective to reduce gambling harm. Other important benefits include providing information to users about their gambling activity and helping them to take breaks from gambling.
In November 2024, the Tasmanian Government deferred progress on the precommitment card. This was followed by an announcement by the Premier in June 2025 that Tasmania would not proceed with implementation of mandatory precommitment without a national approach.
This change in policy occurred despite research by Deloitte Access Economics, commissioned by the Tasmanian Government, which found that implementation of the card would lead to a meaningful reduction in gambling-related harm, particularly among people experiencing gambling harm, moderate-risk gamblers, and their communities. They found that the reduction would then be expected to lead to decreased demand for public health and social support services, decreased costs for justice and policing, improved productivity, and overall improvements in community wellbeing.
Tasmanians will continue to be affected by gambling harm without meaningful government policy based on evidence.
Chris Jones, CEO
This article was published in the Talking Points section of The Mercury on 10 August 2026, under the heading ‘Tasmanians let down on gambling laws’.
Gamblers Help at Anglicare Tasmania can be contacted on 1800 243 232.
