Labor's voluntary card-based gaming fails the test to reduce harm and money laundering
The Minns Government’s gaming reform package announced today fails the test when it comes to genuine poker machine reform: tackling money laundering and reducing the skyrocketing and increasing rates at which people are losing money to poker machines in NSW, says Greens MP and gambling harm minimisation spokesperson Cate Faehrmann.
"The Minns Government commissioned expert advice, received expert advice, and then ignored the most important recommendations. Most of the core elements of its package aren’t mandatory, or are being kicked years down the road or waiting for yet another review,” said Ms Faehrmann.
"The NSW Crime Commission's landmark Project Islington found that a significant amount of money flowing through poker machines was likely to be the proceeds of crime and recommended mandatory cashless gaming as the key reform to tackle money laundering.
"Likewise, the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform recommended a mandatory statewide account-based gaming system.
"Instead, the Government has announced voluntary account-based play. This is gutless and confirms the Minns Government’s complete capitulation to the gambling industry.
“Labor can’t be trusted to take genuine action to reduce the harm from poker machines. This is a package with the gambling industry’s fingerprints all over it.
Meanwhile the Minns Government can’t even get its facts right in terms of how many poker machines are in operation (see our analysis below).
Ms Faehrmann said Labor had now spent more than three years in government without implementing the transformative reforms needed to address poker machine harm.
“The government has also admitted people are at higher risk of harm from poker machines in the early hours of the morning, and its response is yet another review. We don’t need another review to tell us that pokies should be switched off when gambling harm is highest - between midnight and 10am.
“We don’t need another round of reviews and voluntary measures, we need the government to act on the evidence it already has,” said Ms Faehrmann.
Greens analysis of Labor Commitment to Reduce the number of Gaming Machine Entitlements (GMEs)
This is a repeat of a 2023 election promise and does nothing to reduce the amount of actual machines since there are still thousands more entitlements than machines
|
Date |
EGMs - Clubs |
EGMs - Hotels |
Total Operating EGMs |
Gaming Machine Entitlements |
Legislative GME Cap (inc. Hotel PMPs) |
|
2008 |
|||||
|
5 March 2023 |
93,778 |
||||
|
Q1 2024 |
65,117 |
22,495 |
87,612 |
93,594 |
|
|
Q2 2024 |
65,321 |
22,554 |
87,875 |
93,386 |
|
|
Q3 2024 |
65,216 |
22,416 |
87,632 |
93,441 |
|
|
Q4 2024 |
65,236 |
22,536 |
87,772 |
93,428 |
|
|
Q1 2025 |
65,240 |
22,549 |
87,789 |
93,455 |
|
|
Q2 2025 |
65,401 |
22,529 |
87,930 |
93,425 |
|
|
Q3 2025 |
65,326 |
22,513 |
87,839 |
93,390 |
|
|
Q4 2025 |
65,498 |
22,521 |
88,019 |
93,363 |
|
|
Q1 2026 |
65,443 |
22,513 |
87,956 |
93,335 |
|
|
1 June 2026 |
93,312 |
||||
|
1 August 2026 |
93,294 |
||||
The Government stated in today’s media release:
“While the number of gaming machine entitlements has steadily declined over the past three years, these reforms will help accelerate that reduction and ensure that when entitlements are removed from circulation, they are removed permanently.”
And
“Currently, NSW has around 87,000 poker machines across some 2,100 clubs and hotels.”
This was true when they came into office but not any more. In fact, the number of entitlements has gone down by less than 500 while the number of machines has gone up by more than 1,000.