The Tasmanian government has announced it will introduce an Australian-first mandatory pre-commitment card for pokies players, which will limit the amount people can spend on the machines to $5,000 per year.
The cards are set to be brought in by the end of 2024, and will only allow players to lose $100 per day, or $500 a month.
Publican at the Westbury Hotel James Neal said Mr Kunz is one of the 99 per cent of players at his hotel for whom gambling on the pokies was not a problem. He believes the cards will penalise those players, and won't help gambling addicts.
"The real problem gamblers, that 1 per cent, will find a way around it," he said. "They will accost general customers to buy them a card. I can see it happening now.
"You're going to push the real 1 per cent of gamblers online. Now, how much control is there in an online gambling environment? Zero. Tick a box, 18, put in a credit card and play 24/7."
Mr Neal conceded the changes would likely impact his bottom line, but insisted that was not the point. He said the best way to reduce harm for problem players was to better fund the current system. "Staff are trained to identify problem gamblers, to offer assistance and paraphernalia to direct them to a gambling line," he said.
"We see these people all day, every day. We know what their spending habits, and we know if they're unusual."
