Anger over the ACT Government's new cap on poker machines continued to grow on Friday while Greens Minister Shane Rattenbury called for further, tougher reforms.
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The laws provoked strong negative reactions from anti-pokies advocates and hotel industry representatives on Thursday, including Reverend Tim Costello who called it a 'breach of faith'.
The changes, announced by Gaming Minister Joy Burch this week, reduced the number of poker machines in Canberra to 4785, about 800 higher than their original target.
Ms Burch has said all community groups were given the chance to respond to the new laws in 2013, saying the new laws were made in consultation with many diverse organisations
ACT Greens leader Rattenbury said while the new legislation would deliver a tangible reduction in the number of gaming machines, the reforms could be harsher.
"Further measures are needed to tackle problem gambling, such as the Greens proposal for $1 bet limits. Clubs also need to develop a business model that is less reliant on poker machine revenue," he said.
Mr Rattenbury said harms caused by poker machines were well documented, causing not only financial hardship but also contributing to issues like family breakdowns.
ACT Council of Social Service director Susan Helyar criticised the government for failing to discuss the changes with the community sector.
"We weren't involved in any of the conversation," she said. "They focused only on talking with the clubs."
Ms Helyar said the decision to link the total number of poker machines with the adult population was disappointing and changes to taxation arrangements meant the community would lose out on revenue.
"The point of a cap is to stop supply and we think stopping supply reduces the risk of problem gambling," she said.
"It will be the places where they have high gambling activity [like large clubs] which have more opportunity. The issue with that is poker machines are not a benign product, they are actually quite a harmful product.
Productivity Commission research found that individuals who gamble once a week or more have a 30 per cent risk of becoming a problem gambler. Ms Helyar said any increase in poker machines increased the risk for individuals.
"What we want to see is that the industry contributes the right amount to addressing the problems that gambling causes and that's not just about funding problem gambling specialist services," she said.
In 2014-15 the government was estimated to gain $34.8 million from gaming taxes, 0.79 per cent of total revenue, while in the past five years the ACT Labor party has received about $2.4 million in receipts and gifts from Canberra's clubs.
St Vincent de Paul Canberra and Goulburn president Frank Bassil said he had no record of the government reaching out to them for consultation at any stage.
He said he was disappointed the government had dropped its target of 4000 machines and wanted them to consult the sector before it passed the legislation.
"They're certainly doing very little to help addicts if they're ensuring the supply of poker machines will always be kept up," he said.
"I'm not suggesting you can eliminate all forms of gambling from the community, that's silly, but these are particularly accessible and the people who use them are particularly vulnerable."
Ms Burch said the club reform package was formulated in consultation with multiple groups including the clubs, hotels and the community sector.
She said the discussion paper had been widely circulated and advertised in July 2013 but Mission Australia and Care Inc were the only community groups who responded.
"It is disappointing that groups that did not take the opportunity to respond are now criticising these reforms and claiming there was no consultation," she said.
