Electronic monitoring repays multi million investment – maybe
The real outcome of the multi-million dollar investment in electronic monitoring for non-casino gaming machines will
only be known after another twelve months the Chairman of the Charity Gaming Association, the Hon Paul East, said today.
“Early results are very promising and seem to confirm that gathering data at the source results in much better quality
of information. Whether it actually means that more money was gambled on electronic gaming machines is a different
matter and we will probably never know the answer to that question.
“It has been acknowledged for many years that the quality of information being derived from the previous manual
paper-based system was deficient – that was the reason many millions of dollars were invested in hardware and
installation of the new EMS system.
“Therefore, it is not useful to compare the results in the new electronic monitoring environment with the previous
system because of the wide range of factors which can influence the outcome – such as timing of calculations, seasonal
factors and the other efficiencies which have been achieved as the charitable trusts which own machines improve
performance.
“Nevertheless, the result is pleasing and if the outcome is more revenue on a sustainable basis then there will be more
money available to go to worthwhile community groups by way of grants.
“It is nice to see an upturn in revenue even if it closely reflects movements in the growth of the economy generally,”
concluded Mr East.
ENDS