Gambling changes 'would kill' NRL teams | Gatton Rugby League | NRL Rugby in Gatton

AAP

ONLY five or six National Rugby League (NRL) teams will survive if gambling regulations are overhauled, an inquiry has heard.

The Productivity Commission has prepared 41 draft recommendations following its probe into the gambling industry in Australia.

Among the proposals are restricting poker machine players to bets of $1, down from the current maximum of $10, and a $20 limit on one machine at a time.

The commission has also suggested a $200 ATM withdrawal limit on cash machines located nearby.

Leagues Clubs Australia CEO Peter Turnbull told a commission public hearing in Brisbane on Monday the club industry would be decimated by the proposed changes.

"The impact will reverberate through the whole community," Mr Turnbull said.

"Jobs will be lost, sporting and social amenities would be diminished, direct community funding would be severely affected.

"In terms of rugby league, both senior and junior rugby league would be impacted.

"At the NRL level only five or six privately-owned teams would survive."

He said all of this could occur without addressing one of the major issues before the Productivity Commission, that of problem gambling.

The NRL and clubs are concerned that the commission has failed to understand the community role clubs play.

Mr Turnbull told reporters the NRL clubs and other community-based clubs channel their revenue surpluses back into the community, unlike hotels and casinos which are profit-based.

They oppose the commission's tendency to lump all gambling venues together.

Redcliffe Leagues Club general manager Tony Murphy said the club went close to folding when poker machines were allowed in 1992, but it was now thriving and providing a large range of benefits to the local community, including more than $1.7 million to community groups last financial year.

The club also provides invaluable services which reduce crime, mentor youth, engage seniors and provide health benefits to the community, he said.

Mr Murphy said problem gambling has declined to 0.37 per cent of the population, compared to 0.83 per cent in 2001.

The inquiry was told that trials of pre-commitment gambling, where punters nominate the maximum amount they can lose and are prevented from playing on once the limit was reached, had worked well.

However clubs argued a mandatory pre-commitment system might deter casual or small-time gamblers and patrons.

Doug Flockhart, of Clubs Queensland, said the provision of services and facilities for members, not profit, was the reason clubs exist.

"Community-owned gaming ensures this outcome because clubs must reinvest any surplus for the collective benefit for their membership and their local communities," he said.

The hearing continues.