Cashless Gambling Fails In NSW Parliament – For Now
The issue of cashless gambling in New South Wales has been prominent in the news lately. Cashless trials are already underway at The Wests, and Premier Dominic Perrotet is pushing for mandatory cashless gambling across the region. However, the issue is largely dead now as a measure to mandate cashless gambling has failed. It could return at a later date, but for now, it will be business as usual in pubs and casinos.
Cashless Gambling in NSW a Dead Issue
According to reports, a move by politicians in NSW to mandate cashless gambling has failed. NSW is presently looking at various gambling mandates, particularly those focusing on pubs, clubs, and other hospitality venues. Parliament member Alex Greenwich wanted to include a provision that required all pokies to go cashless. However, the measure failed to pass.
The initiative failed despite heavy media attention on pokies. Multiple reports were released from various media outlets speaking out against live pokies. The reports focused on how pokies are targets for money launderers and how they fuel gambling addiction.
Despite the negative attention on pokies, lawmakers have shelved the measure mandating cashless gambling until at least next year. Parliamentary elections will take place in March 2023, and many believe lawmakers will make pokies a politically buzzworthy topic.
Now all lawmakers are supporting cashless gambling. NSW Labor Party leader Chris Minns is among those opposed to the measure. ClubsNSW is also a prominent opponent of the measure. They say that many of its membership do not support cashless gambling. Instead, they are looking to use facial recognition as a tool to combat problem gambling.
One major proponent of cashless gambling is NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet. While he claims lawmakers should take an open-minded approach toward gambling, he still supports cashless gambling. Some feel that the Premier will also use his sway to convince voters to support the measure.
Nationals Party MP and Hospitality Minister Kevin Anderson would prefer the government go a different direction. The Minister for Hospitality and Racing says he plans to partner with Liberal Party Transport Minister David Elliot to persuade voters to vote against cashless gambling.
Perrottet Promising that Clubs and Pubs Will Go Cashless
As mentioned earlier, NSW Premier Dominic Perrotet is a major proponent of cashless gambling in NSW. He doubled down on this intention this past Thursday following a report on an investigation from the NSW Crime Commission. According to the report, billions are being laundered each year through pokies.
According to Perrotet, “This is not a knee-jerk response [but] I can’t be clearer in relation to the direction we are heading. This is not a matter of if we do it, it’s a matter of how we do it.”
Despite an insistence of the state going towards a cashless system, Perrotet does not have a plan on how to accomplish this. The Wests is already in the middle of a cashless trial, but what Perrotet is asking for is a complete overhaul of all pokies throughout the state.
Some believe that such a system will do more harm than good. Labor leader Chris Minns is among those that think this. Minns says he does not support a blanket policy on the matter because “you have got an industry that says they don’t have the resources to roll out the technology immediately to within a truncated timeframe. The second thing is that you’ve got a report from the Victorian [Responsible] Gambling Foundation that indicates that it may induce demand when it comes to problem gambling as a result of there not being a sense of how much you are losing.”
What is certain is that this is an issue that will continue to stir debate leading up to the March election. After that, we should better understand what to expect from cashless gambling in NSW.
