The decision was made by the Gambling and Racing Commission after a request by the clubs industry. Gaming Minister Joy Burch and deputy chief minister Simon Corbell signed off on the regulation in September.

Until September, so-called "ticket-in" gaming was banned, meaning gamblers had to feed cash into a poker machine. But since the change, clubs have been allowed to operate full "ticket-in ticket-out", or TITO, technology, which means gamblers no longer need to redeem their winnings as cash but can simply take the ticket to another machine and keep playing.

The move has upset anti-gaming campaigners who say anything that distances gamblers from cash raises the risk of problem gambling. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon described the change as "sneaky" and said it would increase spending and the harm done.

It comes on top of a move by Ms Burch in December to allow $50 notes to be fed into poker machines, quickly reversed by Chief Minister Andrew Barr when revealed by The Canberra Times in January. Mr Barr said then it wasn't enough for the gaming minister "just to consult with the club industry" and he wanted wider community consultation.

It also comes on top of the news last week that the vast majority of clubs are now using eftpos-type machines to get cash, allowing gamblers to effectively bypass the $250-a-day limit from ATMs.

Greens Minister Shane Rattenbury said he was concerned to hear of "ticket-in ticket-out" gaming and would seek expert advice.

"Removing barriers and physical interactions can effectively make it easier for problem gamblers to spend more money and prevents intervention from staff," he said.

"Industry advice to licensed venues suggests that TITO technology decreases the number of hand pays, resulting in longer periods of gaming machine operation and a reduction in face-to-face interaction by easing the transition from one gaming machine to another."

Mr Rattenbury pointed to the limit on ATM withdrawals which had been designed to increase barriers to constant gambling and encourage human interaction.

Clubs ACT chief executive Jeff House, who justified the use of eftpos machines on the basis that they forced gamblers to speak to staff (to activate the machine), rejected the suggestion that TITO technology would significantly reduce staff contact.

Nor was it about increasing gaming revenue, he said. Revenue had fallen nearly 3.5 per cent since September and 31 per cent since 2006.

"The criticism being levelled at decisions made by either the government or the regulator over recent times comes from parts of the community that simply do not believe that gambling has a legitimate place in the Australian way of life," he said.

"... The proposition that the only changes government should make in relation to clubs are those that drive revenue down as an end in and of itself, is entirely unreasonable."

The government failed to announce the change until the Canberra Times asked questions this week. Only then did Ms Burch issue a press release which characterised the six-month-old changes as cutting "red tape" for clubs.

She insisted it had been the commission's autonomous decision and she had taken its advice. Asked whether she had expressed a view, she said, "I discuss many things with the commission but will always be guided by their advice."

The technology would be reviewed after 12 months, she said, noting that gross gaming revenue in November and December, after the change, was $1.8 million less than at the same time in 2013.

The Salvation Army said the ticket-in ticket-out technology was another "strategy designed to keep people engaged and active in gambling".

Clinical director of recovery services for the group Gerard Byrne said it was important to find ways of "interrupting" people to let them pause and think. A ticket-in system worked against that.

"They made it simpler for people to feed cash into machines when they put the bill acceptors on the machines – prior to that it was all done by coins. This is just taking it to the next level," Mr Byrne said. "It makes it easier for [gamblers]. We're even bypassing the need for people to feed cash back into the machines, by just leaving it in the machines and going from ticket to ticket."

Gambling commission chief executive Greg Jones said the decision had been made after considering harm minimisation issues and the experience of NSW and Queensland, where it is allowed.

Each ticket must have a harm minimisation message and the maximum allowed on a ticket was $800.

"It's moving with modern technology. The whole society is going cashless to a large degree and it's moving consistent with that. Most people are fairly used to operating in a cashless society," he said.

The change would increase security for clubs which wouldn't have to keep as much cash.

The September regulation also allows clubs to keep unclaimed gaming money and use it for increased jackpots or other prizes or benefits to patrons, rather than having to forfeit it to the government.

Ms Burch said the threshold at which clubs must report consultancies and salaries had been lifted from $50,000 to $100,000 for consultancies and contracts, and from $100,000 to $150,000 for remuneration.