The ACT government will bring in new reforms designed to tackle problem gambling by the end of the year, in the wake of an auditor-general's report into the gaming industry.
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While the details are still to be ironed out, ACT attorney-general Gordon Ramsay revealed amendments to current regulation would be finalised by December.
That includes updating the definition of problem gambling to leave less room for interpretation by club staff, Mr Ramsay said.
Clearer guidelines will be developed to help staff spot the signs of gambling harm, considering the impact on families as well as individuals, and both club employees and board members will undergo "better training more often", he said.
Regulation will also be beefed up around enforcement, self-exclusion and the already mandatory role of a gambling contact officer.
Right now there are about 150 such officers across the territory's clubs, trained to respond to gambling harm as a first point of contact for patrons.
Under the changes, a trained staff member will have to be on the floor whenever a poker machine is running.
While the government will likely provide some financial support towards their training, which is also being reviewed, the officers will remain employees of the clubs.
Mr Ramsay also signalled he would bring forward changes to enforcement mechanisms and penalities designed to sharpen the teeth of the ACT's gambling watchdog, which came under fire in June after throwing out a fine for a club in the high-profile case of problem gambler Laurie Brown.
Professor Brown lost more than $200,000 at the Raiders Club in Belconnen, which was found to have broken poker machine laws, but the regulator chose to scrap its record $120,000 fine in favour of a formal reprimand.
Mr Ramsay has previously expressed his disappointment at the decision, but his office said enforcement changes are still to be determined.
A spokeswoman said updates to the self-exclusion scheme would make it easier for clubs to turn away patrons who had previously requested to be denied entry due to problem gambling but later changed their minds.
Clubs ACT chief executive Gwyn Rees said the association had been in discussions with the government about extending self-exclusion rules across the border to Queanbeyan clubs and pubs, but the government had not committed to the idea as yet.
More consultation with industry, experts and community representatives would be held in September, Mr Ramsay said.
