A $2 million fund is to be established to support Canberra’s community clubs hit by the Government’s crackdown on gambling.
The Gambling Legislation Amendment Bill 2019 introduced into the Legislative Assembly, creates the fund to be known as the Diversification and Sustainability Support Fund.
Minister for Business and Regulatory Services, Gordon Ramsay said he expected the $2 million to be generated over 2019-20 with contributions from clubs matched dollar-for-dollar by the Government.
“The fund will be made up of contributions from club licensees based on the number of (gaming machine) authorisations held at the venues, providing an incentive for unused authorisations to be divested,” Mr Ramsay said.
“Clubs are places that support their local communities through sport, culture, and through social connections and are not just places to gamble.”
He said the establishment of the fund would help raise the capacity of clubs to look to a sustainable long term future.
The contribution rate for the first 99 authorisations held at a club venue would be $20 per month, rising to $30 per month for each authorisation over that.
Mr Ramsay said the establishment of the fund continued implementation of the pathway to 4,000 gaming machine authorisations and responded to the ACT Club Industry Diversification Support Analysis report presented last year.
