Gambling on pokie machines continues to loom as one of the big issues as we head towards the NSW State election in March, but if some politicians have their way rural and remote areas like Broken Hill could find they are not part of any cashless card roll out, or even a trial period, for some time.
The push for the cashless card originally came out of a NSW Crime Commission report which said pokies were one money laundering operation carried out by organised crime in some clubs nationwide and could be solved by a cashless card.
The other issue is gamblers in NSW lose more money annually than anyone, anywhere else in the world, and a cashless card could potentially rein in problem gamblers whose spending beyond their means often leads to a raft of social issues.
The idea of a cashless card has already been rejected by a majority of Boken Hill City councillors, with Mayor Tom Kennedy saying, “I support the government addressing problem gamblers but not at the expense of local communities and not at the expense of the clubs themselves that are so important to regional communities..
“We all acknowledge that problem gamblers affect families, it affects themselves, but the reality is, and there have been many studies that show, prohibition and cashless cards do not help.”
As we’ve previously reported, locals flushed $7 million through 272 pokie machines in five of our local clubs in the first six months of 2022 alone.
But supporters of pokies say local clubs ultimately end up injecting millions of dollars into our local economy by washing through the clubs’ machines and coming out as grants or donations to groups and sports teams.
State of the argument
State politicians cannot agree on a way forward, with the Greens hitting out at Labor after they said a 500-machine trial should get underway.
There are 86,000 poker machines in pubs and clubs across NSW.
A 500-machine trial is set to fail, according to Greens’ spokesperson on gambling, Cate Faehrmann.
“This was the opportunity for Labor to show they’re serious about cracking down on money laundering and reducing gambling harm by doing what the experts, including the NSW Crime Commission, have been calling for. Instead, they’ve wimped out and designed a scheme with a high likelihood of failing,” said Ms Faehrmann.
“Labor says they’ll implement the card if the trial finds it hasn’t adversely impacted the industry. All the trial will show is that people chose to use the machines without the card – letting Labor declare it a failure to the delight of their gambling industry mates,” she says.
Wesley Mission CEO, Stu Cameron praised the Labor party for releasing their policy before the election, but added the proposed reforms were just a start, and there was a long way to go.
“All the positives are undermined by the lack of commitment to introducing a cashless gambling card. There is a lack of commitment [from the Labor Party],” Mr Cameron told the Barrier Truth.
“It’s [the cashless card] the reform that would have the most impact on not only eliminating money laundering but reducing gambling harm.”
NSW Labor Party leader, Chris Minns, says his party’s call for a 500-machine trial is a major plan for reform to gambling in NSW. He adds it was put together after working closely with major stakeholders across the state.
“I am proud to announce this plan is comprehensive. It is evidenced based, and it has unanimous support from the NSW shadow cabinet,” Mr Minns says.
The reform package suggested by Labor includes banning donations from clubs, including political donations, and a pledge to reduce pokie machine numbers. It also includes a trial of cashless gambling cards at 500 poker machines in both metropolitan and regional NSW.
But Nationals MPs in the current government are unlikely to support any moves to bring the cashless card into regional areas during any trial period put in place by either the current Coalition government or by a new Labor government if the party wins state power in March.
PICTURE: REUTERS, Loren Elliott
