pokies will be abandoned.

But, according the BH Club manager, Graham Nichols, small clubs are relieved with the decision.

“I think that from a small club’s perspective, the mandatory pre-commitment was a big thing,” Mr Nichols said.

“We feel that we do a lot for the community and lots of that is possible thanks to the poker machines revenue.

“Our argument is that there are countries where there was a mandatory pre-commitment and gambling actually got worse so a trial will be good,” he said.

Clubs SA director, Helen Martin, told The Recorder her organisation backed a trial of the technology in the Australian Capital Territory. This is the alternative to the original proposal.

“From a clubs’ perspective, we are relieved with the announcement,” she said. “The implementation of a trial before a mandatory pre-commitment will give us a chance to discuss other options.

“We are keen to assist problem gamblers in a proper way and until it is proven that the pre-commitment is it, we want to try other options.” The government says it will legislate to require the mandatory pre-commitment technology to be installed on every new poker machine built from the start of 2013.

The technology will be in place by the end of the trial in 2016 with the new timeline supported by the Productivity Comm-ission.

Labor had a deal with Independent MP Andrew Wilkie to form government and this originally involved changing poker machine laws by May 8, but Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the deal would not have passed the parliament. That caused Mr Wilkie to withdraw his support from the government.