Tenders called for electronic monitoring of all pokie machines

1.00pm

The Department of Internal Affairs is calling for tenders for an electronic monitoring system (EMS) of all gaming machines in pubs and clubs.

Keith Manch, director of the department's Gaming and Censorship Regulation Group, said EMS was a major IT project that will link more than 22,000 gaming machines at more than 2000 venues to one central monitor.

EMS will monitor how much money is gambled on each machine, how much it pays out in prizes to gamblers, and how much should be banked.

Casinos in New Zealand already have their own individual monitoring systems which record this information.

But in pubs and clubs the monitoring has to be done manually. Staff from the organisation that owns the machines or the pub where they are hosted must visit each machine individually and record its meter readings.

"The integrity of EMS will be far higher than the current system," Mr Manch said.

"Incorrect banking is the most common problem identified in audits. It is an issue in most of the licence cancellations and suspensions, and in the formal warnings given to societies."

EMS is a powerful monitoring tool and, in addition to providing financial information, its functions would include:

* Ensuring that all software being used on machines is identical to the approved versions;

* Detecting software failures;

* Detecting any tampering with a machine or software;

* Turning machines on and off and altering machine configuration.

The Gambling Act, which was passed in September last year, requires that all gaming machines be connected to EMS.

"There is a misconception in the gambling sector that machines will not have to be connected until March 18, 2007," Mr Manch said.

"While this is the final date, there will be various deadlines before then and most machines will be connected well before that date, with the first likely to be next year."

Specific dates will depend on the rollout of EMS and the Department will give as much notice as possible.

The tendering process for implementing EMS has started with a combined registration of interest and request for information being issued.

Vendors, or consortiums of vendors, are being asked to supply information that will enable the department to assess their general suitability to provide an EMS.

- NZPA