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Study of the Impact of Caps on Electronic Gaming Machines

Released in May 2005, this study assessed the effectiveness of Victoria's regional electronic gaming machine (EGM) caps policy.

This study was commissioned by the Gambling Research Panel (GRP) in 2003-04. The study compared the following:

• five Victorian regions where the number of EGMs is capped
• five uncapped 'control' regions.

The researchers collected and reported qualitative data from the 10 regions as part of the evaluation methodology. This data was based primarily on consultations with gaming stakeholder groups, including:

• local councils
• counselling services
• support groups
• problem gamblers.

Quantitative data considered in the analysis included:

• gaming financial turnover figures
• EGM usage patterns
• customer migration
• the number of problem gamblers.

The key areas of the report cover:

• the terms of reference of the report
• an overview of trends in gaming machine expenditure in Victoria
• previous policies to minimise harm from gambling
• background issues and research questions as to the likely impact of regional caps
• likely responses of consumers, machine operators and venue licensees to the caps
• assessment of gaming statistics
• the data requirements to undertake the analysis
• observed trends and patterns in gambling expenditure
• contrasts between the capped and control regions
• econometric analysis to formally test the effect government policies may have had on gaming activity
• a final overview and conclusions arising from the study.

The Study of the Impact of Caps on Electronic Gaming Machines (2005) research report can be downloaded from the links below. The report has been broken into sections for easier and faster download.

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Author:	South Australian Centre For Economic Studies (SACES)
Place of Publication:	Melbourne
Publisher:	Department of Justice
Date of Publication:	2005
Number of Pages:	Table of contents - 6 References - 6 Chapters 1 and 2 - 32 Chapters 3 and 4 - 39 Chapter 5 - 40 Chapter 6 - 24 Appendices 1-3 - 53 Appendices 4-7 - 49
Copyright:	State of Victoria 2005