Queensland's gambling code up for review

Queensland has flagged a review of its Responsible Gambling Code of Practice in a new harm minimisation plan that shows pokies are both popular and problematic in the Sunshine State.

About a quarter of Queenslanders play the pokies, with an average spend of about $625 per person annually, figures in the plan released this week show.

The state has about 40,000 gaming machines operating in about 1000 clubs and hotels, plus another 3700 in casinos.

More than 70 per cent of Gambling Help service clients said "gaming machines are problematic for me", the plan states.

The State Revenue Office netted more than $820 million in gaming machine taxes last financial year.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman says pokies "continue to be a key focus of government regulation".

"The new plan highlights our focus on strengthening harm minimisation from all gambling products, including a review of the Responsible Gambling Code of Practice," she said.

A review of the code as well as mandatory requirements "to strengthen and encourage effective harm minimisation outcomes" are listed as one of the plan's "key deliverables".

"Queensland has gaming machine caps in place for the safety of Queenslanders and there are almost 2000 less machines operating compared to 2018," Ms Fentiman said.

The plan calls for a shift away from the "responsible gambling" message that puts the onus on individual consumers, and toward "safer gambling".

This "recognises there are safe levels of gambling activity and ways for industry to provide safer gambling environments", it says.

Currently pokies in the state's hotels and clubs have a maximum bet limit per spin of $5 and a minimum wait of three seconds between spins.

Note acceptor limits also prevent gamblers from inserting banknotes once the value of accumulated credit on the machine exceeds $100.

The limitations are intended to prevent gamblers from making "large spontaneous" bets.

The Productivity Commission floated $1 bet limits as a means of government intervention to limit pokie harm as far back as 2010.