TheNew South Walespremier has been accused of “misrepresenting” advice from an independent panel on poker machine reform by flagging he may “walk away from cashless gambling altogether”.
The criticism from charity and advocate groups came as one Labor backbencher warned his western Sydney electorate had “felt the brunt of gambling-related harm for too long”, while expressing hope “there will be further reforms to come”.
Banning cash and the anonymous use of the state’s almost 90,000 poker machines was a key recommendation of a 2022 NSW crime commission report, whichwarned billions of dollars in dirty money was being laundered through pokies.
The trial, launched in early 2024, was also described by the state government asone way to help monitor gambling harm across the state. Almost $24m was lost to poker machines each day during the first quarter of this year.
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Despite the trial drawing just 14 “genuine and active” participants,a report by government-appointed experts called for cashless gaming to become mandatory in 2028.
After nearly six months, the state government is yet to formally respond to the report’s key findings. On Friday,hours after a damning audit of poker machine regulation, Chris Minns criticised his government’s own trial.
“Despite everybody’s best effort to have cashless gaming rolled out across NSW gaming, it’s largely proved to be ineffective,” Minns said.
“It hasn’t worked, it’s not driven down the incidents of problem gambling, the take-up rate has been lower than we thought, the cost of compliance is enormous, astronomical.
“I can’t really justify, when we want to be putting money into new public schools and brand new public transport, putting hundreds of millions of dollars into a compliance network for pubs and clubs across the state.”
Minns told reporters his government was looking to take action “but in a responsible way”.
The comments angered the charity Wesley Mission, which was a member of the independent panel advising government.
“The premier’s comments last week indicate his government has every intention of binning the panel’s reform roadmap report and walking away from cashless gambling altogether,” said Wesley Mission’s general manager, Jim Wackett.
Wackett said Minns had “totally misrepresented the outcomes of the trial”. The panel’s executive committee described the trial as “a great success” and stressed it “should not be overlooked or understated”.
“[Minns] claimed cashless gambling had been tried and failed and it didn’t change anyone’s behaviour,” Wackett said. “The trial was never about changing people’s behaviour, it was about seeing if cashless technology worked – and it did.”
The NSW Council of Social Service’s chief executive, Cara Varian, said the premier’s comments were “concerning” and urged the government to “stay focused” on implementing the panel’s recommendations. The council was also a member of the panel.
“We know that cashless gambling is an effective tool to minimise gambling harm,” Varian said. “Pokies tear people, families and communities apart – and disproportionately impact people on low incomes, perpetuating cycles of disadvantage.”
Minns’ office declined to comment on the criticism. A spokesperson for the gaming minister, David Harris, said the independent panel’s report “flagged the significant complexities involved with reform in this area”.
“The government is committed to building on these reforms with evidence-based measures that we know will make a difference,” the spokesperson said.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who represents the party on gambling policy, said the premier’s comments were “a cop out”.
“The government was warned that a cashless gaming trial only applied to a limited number of poker machines would never work because most people would choose not to participate, which is what happened,” Faehrmann said.
Labor MP David Saliba, who represents the seat of Fairfield, said he was pleased the state government’s had accepted all recommendations froman audit office report that found targets for harm minimisation had not been set.
“Fairfield has felt the brunt of gambling-related harm for too long,” Saliba said. “The minister for gaming has always made himself available, and I have made my views clear about the impact of gaming-harm on Fairfield.
“I have been pleased the government has implemented so many harm minimisation reforms since taking office and is taking this issue seriously. I am hopeful there will be further reforms to come.”