The move to list the shopping areas – such as the East Brighton shopping strip, Dendy Village and the Seaview Shopping Centre in Beaumaris – aims to strengthen the council’s commitment to protecting these activity centres as planning decisions are made into the future.

Bayside director of city strategy Shiran Wickramasinghe said the council had received support for its draft policy during an extensive community consultation process from groups such as Gamblers Help and the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

“There have been six submissions to date. Of these, four are in support of the amendment, and one is an objection on the grounds the respondent doesn’t think the controls go far enough,” he said.

“Some of the individuals that responded would like to see even stricter controls.”

Mr Wickramasinghe said under the draft policy, council would have greater guidance in restricting gaming machines in some areas, and prohibiting them in others.

“The amendment allows for more appropriate locations for the economic use of gaming machines consistent with the community’s expectation of fairness, social considerations and a pleasant living and recreational environment,” he said.

“In 2010, Council conducted a review of the Bayside Electronic Gaming Machines Policy. The research concluded that a proportion of the community is susceptible to problem gambling, which can have significant adverse impacts on the health and wellbeing of the community and the strength of local economies. It also identified that there was a correlation between the accessibility of gambling, particularly gambling on machines, and problem gambling.”

Mr Wickramasinghe said he didn’t believe restricting gaming machines in some areas would worsen the problem elsewhere.

“The policy provides guidance across bayside on the appropriate siting and design of gaming machine venues to minimise the adverse impacts of gaming and reduce the incidence of problem gaming,” he said.