NSW to expand cashless gaming trial

Jake Graves December 15, 2023

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NSW to expand cashless gaming trial

The government in New South Wales (NSW) has expanded plans in place to initiate a cashless gambling trial early next year to include almost 4,500 poker machines across 24 local government areas. 28 clubs of varying sizes will also be participating in the hopes of catalysing an industry of universal cashless gaming across NSW.

To assess the success of this trial, Michael Foggo, a former liquor, gaming and racing commissioner is set to lead a panel of 16 industry representatives and reform advocates who have been instructed to reach a verdict by November 2024. The scale of this trial is not lost on Foggo, who has stated that a large number of clubs have been applying to take part in this trial:

“This demonstrates the depth of genuine support this trial has in the industry and its commitment to addressing gambling harm and money laundering.”

Trial expansion

When Foggo was initially announced in his role, he had stated that he wished to expand the trial to 2,500 additional machines, to accompany the originally planned 500. He claimed that a larger sample size would be a prerequisite for “proper research analysis”. The data collected will be analysed with the aim of considering such factors as the effects on employees, infrastructure requirements and costs.

Australia’s stance

Staggeringly, residents in the Australian state lost USD4.3 billion to poker machines in the last six months alone, with gaming machine net profits jumping 11 percent.

Australian Premier, Chris Minns, has vowed to make the panel’s findings public and subsequently implement cashless gaming should the verdict be in favour. This trial is seen as a commitment to addressing both the issue of money laundering and gambling harms in NSW.

Gambling addiction remains prevalent

The Oceanic nation currently suffers on the widest scale with the issue of problem gambling with the incredibly lucrative industry drawing nearly 80 percent of Australia’s population to gamble within a calendar year.

The most recent regulatory breach came when NSW’s neighbouring state, Victoria, ordered Altona Returned & Services League club (RSL) to pay a total of A$8,160 (approx. USD5,481) for allowing a minor to gamble.

The court discovered that Altona RSL permitted a 16-year-old to gamble on a gaming machine for ten minutes in September 2022. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) filed charges against the RSL in August 2023 after receiving a tip from a member of the public.

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