Poker machines accepting cash will be gradually swapped for live music and entertainment under an ambitious five-year plan to reform the NSW gaming industry.
Premier Dominic Perrottet unveiled the long-awaited $344 million package he will take to the election next month, describing it as “the largest social community and law enforcement reform in our state’s history”.
“It will save lives. It will protect jobs and ensure that our communities across NSW are stronger now and into the future,” he said on Monday.
Players will be linked to a single bank account, interim $500 cash feed-in limits will be implemented and a statewide self-exclusion register will be created.
The suite of changes are the answer to a damning NSW Crime Commission report that billions of dollars in crime proceeds were flowing through the state’s 86,000 pokies each year.
“Today, we fix money laundering, we fix problem gambling and we support pubs and clubs,” Mr Perrottet told reporters.
“The time for trials is over … the transition commences 2024, full rollout by 2028 and at the same time (the government) provides financial support for pubs and clubs.”
Pubs and clubs will be incentivised to diversify away from pokies with no-interest loans and one-off grants of $50,000 to invest in new income streams such as live music and food.
The plan was welcomed by key independent crossbencher Alex Greenwich.
“Now is the moment,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the full release of the government’s plan, and hope the opposition will join this multi-partisan push for reform.”
But the body representing registered clubs – which operate 64,000 pokies – raised concern about the “significant costs and technical challenges” of turning pokies cashless.
“We’re particularly concerned about the implications for small, regional clubs and the impact this will have on jobs across the industry,” ClubsNSW said.
The industry group said it remained committed to tackling problem gambling and keeping criminals out of venues.
Charity Wesley Mission was disappointed at the timeline to implement the cashless pokies policy.
“We still believe that, based on both evidence and expert advice, the full implementation of mandatory cashless gaming is possible in the next parliamentary term (before April 2027),” chief executive Stu Cameron said.
Two in every five poker machines globally are in NSW after the previous Labor government turned pubs and clubs into “mini-casinos”, Mr Perrottet said.
“That transition will be difficult, but I’ve committed completely with industry that I’ll work very closely to get that done,” he said.
“A sign of any great society is how it looks after its most vulnerable people.”
Labor has promised to introduce mandatory trials for 500 poker machines, with leader Chris Minns cautious about implementing mandatory change without more evidence it will work.
© AAP 2023
