More questions over Victoria's carded play trial
Also including: What's on across the eastern suburbs this month
Matthew Sims
September 03, 2025
⏱️ The 72nd edition of our newsletter is a 7-minute read.
Hi there 👋
Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.
At the time of writing our subscriber count sits at 12,014 - a big hello to all our new readers and a big thank you to everyone for helping us break through 12K!
🗞️ Here’s what the Eastern Melburnian has been up to
If you’ve glanced at our website or social platforms at all over the past week or two, you’ve either heard me say — or seen me write — the words “carded play trial”.
Believe me, I’m just as tired of writing and saying them as you are seeing them.
However, what it’s about is really important to those seeking to reduce gambling harm across Victoria and those who are the victims of gambling harm.
It’s basically a trial across three LGAs - one being Monash, in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne - of a new technology that would require people to set limits on their losses before they start making bets on the pokies.
Simple enough, right?
My coverage has been focused on the number of issues gambling reform advocates have discovered in the Victorian government’s plan.
This week, I discovered another surprising fact - despite often being touted as running from September to November across 43 venues, the trial is only about two months, with the month of September involving a support period where participating venues are taught what the trial will involve and how to communicate it to their punters.
🎰 As part of my ongoing reporting on gambling, I want to shine a light on the experiences of people impacted by the industry, not just by those using poker machines, but also sports betting apps and online gaming.
I'm really keen to talk to locals who have struggled to stay on top of their gambling, or just have something to say, and to hear about your experience. How did it start? Do you think it's a fair fight? What has it cost you? What do you want politicians to do?
You can remain anonymous, as what I really want is to hear your stories first hand.
📩 Just reply to this email, or ping me directly: [email protected]
🚗 In other news, this week I highlighted the closure of the Eastern Freeway between Tram Road and Doncaster Road over the upcoming weekend.
As a semi-frequent user of the thoroughfare, the years of speed reductions along this passageway have been frustrating. Hopefully, it’s all for the good of making commutes faster and connecting parts of our city.
If you’re keen to have a say on the Urban Design and Landscape Plan for the Eastern Freeway between Tram Road and Springvale Road, public consultation closes Sunday September 21.
If you have any thoughts, opinions or ideas of what we should do next, just reply to this email and I’ll be on the other end. We’re building the Eastern Melburnian to serve this community, and it all starts here. With your help, tips, feedback and involvement we can continue to grow and improve.
Let’s dive in to some other fun things.
Delays of up to 90 minutes are expected when the freeway closes in both directions between Doncaster Road and Tram Road from 10pm on Friday September 5 to 5am on Monday September 8.
HEARD THIS WEEK👂
Clear details around the Victorian government’s much-lauded carded play pokie trial still remain hazy, with one local council and advocacy groups retracting their endorsements last week. Now, clarity over just how many months the trial will go for is under the microscope.
Last week, both Monash Council and the Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) retracted their approval of the trial, citing unclear timelines and mandatory pre-commitment not being included as major concerns.
Since then, documentation seen by the Eastern Melburnian – detailing the exact rollout of the project – raises further questions on perhaps the most basic fact of all: how long it will go on for?
The Eastern Melburnian’s understands the Department of Justice and Community Safety will spend September preparing venues and notifying gamblers of the upcoming changes.
It will do so by supporting all 43 venues involved with the trial across Monash, Greater Dandenong and Ballarat during September.
This work will aim to ensure the venues clearly communicate what the trial will involve with the patrons, how they can sign up to the new carded play system and how data will be collected.
This will all occur before any carded play trial begins.
According to directions enforced by Casino, Gaming and Liquor Regulation Minister Enver Erdogan, the carded play trial would not begin until Wednesday October 1. From then, the Clayton Hotel is the only venue required to adhere to the directions.
From Thursday, October 2, four more Monash venues would join the list, followed by all Greater Dandenong and remaining Monash venues on Monday October 6 and Ballarat joining the fold on Tuesday October 7.
Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Rebecca Paterson said the AGR believes this communication work should have been carried out prior to the launch of the trial and the current timeline is “considerably reduced” from the three-month timeline publicised.
“It’s hard to say you’re trialling something for a three-month period, but the technology that you’re trialling is only in place for two months,” she told the Eastern Melburnian.
The Victorian government remains steadfast the trial will go ahead, with a government spokesperson telling this masthead the government has “always said this would be a phased approach to ensure we get implementation right and bring industry along with us”.
For the first time in more than 25 years, the Eastern Freeway will be closed in both directions over the weekend to allow for the construction of a new and wider pedestrian and cycling bridge at Heyington Avenue.
The works form part of broader upgrades of the Eastern Freeway, which will introduce six new express lanes, new traffic management technology and Melbourne’s first dedicated busway, as well as connecting the Eastern Freeway to the new North East Link tunnels in Bulleen.
As part of the North East Link project, works are currently underway to construct two 6.5-kilometre tunnels between Watsonia and Bulleen and widen parts of the Eastern Freeway to up to 20 lanes, including off and on ramps.
Delays of up to 90 minutes are expected when the freeway closes in both directions between Doncaster Road and Tram Road from 10pm on Friday September 5 to 5am on Monday September 8.
Those travelling into the city will take detours via Tram Road and Doncaster Road, while motorists travelling towards Ringwood must take Doncaster Road and Wetherby Road to re-enter the freeway.
The following freeway ramps will be closed during the full freeway closure to help ease traffic congestion:
Chandler Highway: Ringwood-bound entry ramp;
Bulleen Road: Ringwood-bound entry ramp;
Elgar Road: Citybound entry ramp;
Middleborough Road: Citybound entry ramp;
Blackburn Road: Citybound entry ramp; and
Springvale Road: Citybound entry ramp.
Due to these ramp closures, Blackburn Road and Middleborough Road city-bound entry ramp bus stops will be closed.
Read more on that story here or view the video below.
TODAY’S DEAL 🔥
 | The Maxwell & Williams Epicurious 2.6L Casserole makes hearty stews and soups a breeze – and looks just as good on the table as in the oven. Snap it up today for $35.97 (40% off RRP $59.95). Smaller sizes also on sale: 1.3L for $17.97 and 500ml for $11.97. Don’t miss this deal! |
Disclaimer: We may earn a small commission on purchases made through the links above, at no extra cost to you, to help keep this newsletter free.
SEEN THIS WEEK 🤓
Running out of time to grab a gift for Father’s Day? Or keen to see the start of Spring in all its glory? Here’s a selection of some of the best events coming up in September.
Bloom & Graze
Cherry Hill Orchards in Coldstream is opening its gates across two weekends to allow locals from across the Yarra Valley and beyond to wander through the budding cherry blossom trees.
When: September 6 and 7 and September 13 and 14
Where: 739 Maroondah Hwy, Coldstream
Cost: $15 adults, all kids free
Comics & Records Fair
Lovers of obscure thrash metal vinyl are encouraged to come along to the Comics & Records Fair at Big Antler later this month.
Consisting of mostly European pressings, there will also be about 300 singles, 200 cassettes and 200 CDs up for grabs across death metal, as well as 30 crates of rock, pop and funk releases and about 2000 comics from the 60s to the 80s.
When: Saturday September 13, 10am to 4pm
Where: Big Antler, 158 Maroondah Highway, Ringwood
Thanks for catching up with us this week at The Eastern Melburnian! We hope you enjoyed this issue, and we’d love to hear your thoughts. We’ll be back on Friday with more stories, local legends, and fun polls, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Matthew and the Eastern Melburnian Team
P.S. here’s a little something extra for you.
How did you like today’s newsletter? |