Money laundering,addiction and ruined lives:how a powerful lobby group has set up a multibillion-dollar industry.
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Ringing bells,flashing lights and the promise of a jackpot. What appears to be an easy game is a sophisticated system built to draw you in again and again.
Two teal candidates will make poker machine curfews and other reforms a condition of their support,should the NSW election result in a hung parliament.
Poker machines account for almost two thirds of gambling losses in NSW,dwarfing other forms of betting such as racing.
Unregulated,simulated casino games prove lucrative for developers,but experts fear they are breeding future problem gamblers.
Experts warn gaming policies will be redundant without mothballing more poker machines and the introduction of reduced operating hours.
All poker machines in the state would be cashless within five years under a raft of measures in the Coalition’s new gambling reform package.
Banning donations from clubs with poker machines would prove a significant blow to the influence of the gaming industry on Macquarie Street.
Rugby league wasn’t founded on pokie revenue,but it has flourished off the back of it. Now,the decades-old business model is being challenged by modern economics and a dose of ethics.
James Thorpe,who owns three inner Sydney pubs,says the industry’s reliance on gaming revenue is hurting the Sydney food and beverage scene.
Clubs are being criticised over an advertising blitz that highlights their community role after ClubsNSW conceded some venues are given taxpayer-funded compensation.
Critics labelled the $2.1 billion loss – the highest in NSW history – an obscenity that reinforces the need for reform.
Former deputy prime minister John Anderson has rubbished claims that regional communities will suffer if cashless gaming cards are made mandatory.
Banking executive Anna Bligh says the industry would assist in the rollout of cashless gaming,adding it was aware of the harm caused by problem gambling.
Opposition Leader Chris Minns has vowed to enforce a mandatory cashless gaming trial on hundreds of machines in pubs and clubs.
Cashless gaming is untested,but researchers suggest punters will be quick to adapt. But ClubsNSW says the proposal will only punish recreational gamblers.
Anti-pokies independent Troy Stolz is mounting a challenge in the marginal seat of Kogarah,saying the NSW Labor leader “is in the pocket of pubs and clubs”.
The council said flashing signs advertising gaming rooms were installed without consent and may be removed.
The senior NSW frontbencher has told Premier Dominic Perrottet he will excuse himself from cabinet discussions on cashless gaming.
Dominic Perrottet’s push to reform NSW’s gambling industry has won the high-profile endorsement of former prime minister John Howard,who says the premier’s policy is “courageous and wise”.
NSW clubs claim to hold huge political power,to be a critical source of state revenue,and to do much to support local communities. These do not stand up to scrutiny.
The premier will face difficulties shepherding the reforms through his cabinet,with a senior minister saying the changes will push problem gambling elsewhere.
A blitz of 300 venues by Liquor and Gaming NSW revealed 50 breaches of gaming laws,including putting ATMs inside gaming rooms.
The peak union body has backed the NSW premier’s cashless gaming card,warning poker machines are “taking billions from workers’ pockets”.
The revelation from the NSW gaming regulator comes as new data reveals venues with late-night trading hours almost double their pokie profits.
The peak body representing the state’s RSL clubs says the “powers that be” need to be warned against the unintended consequences of a cashless gaming card.
The most lucrative pubs in NSW in terms of net profit per machine are concentrated in the hands of a few key players.
Star Entertainment Group has called on NSW pubs and clubs to support NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s plan to transition the industry to cashless gaming.
The premier might have qualms about it,but gaming machine revenue is on the rise.
The senior NSW minister says it is unacceptable that registered clubs can donate to political parties despite gambling companies being deemed prohibited donors.
Leading charities,including World Vision and Oxfam,have distanced themselves after being named without their knowledge in a robocall opposing cashless gaming.
A second union is now backing NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet on introducing cashless pokies,with an official saying health workers face the real-world impacts of problem gambling.
The phone survey asserts that clubs and pubs “will be made to spend millions” on NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet’s proposed reform.
NSW’s powerful clubs lobby group has launched its first major pre-election offensive since it waged war against the Gillard government a decade ago.
The NSW Labor leader and state premier are being urged to work together to counter ClubsNSW’s opposition to gaming reforms.
The NSW Premier says impending reform of the state’s lucrative gambling industry is non-negotiable regardless of the political ramifications.
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns says he is prepared to reform the gambling sector but only after the impact on the industry is fully calculated.
The extraordinary scale of poker machine addiction in NSW,particularly in the poorest areas of the state,is a shameful indictment on governments past.
More than 60 per cent of NSW voters want a cashless gaming card rolled out in the state’s pubs and clubs.
One suspected drug trafficker told the inquiry that although he was unemployed and played with large sums of cash for hours at a time,venue staff had never questioned him about the source of his money.
Helen Dalton,whose seat centres on the regional centre of Griffith,says she’s unafraid of political backlash over her stance on poker machines.
The NSW Council of Social Service also wants to end its association with ClubGrants after a review found the scheme was “rife with opportunities for conflicts of interest”.
Once they were modest affairs,but now they are Taj Mahals with a dark underbelly.
Premier Dominic Perrottet “reiterated his strong view that the status quo can’t continue” to ClubsNSW and the NSW Australian Hotels Association.
Chris Minns has indicated a trial would need to be an opt-in scheme,even though it could allow money launderers or problem gamblers to go elsewhere.
Rob Stokes has delivered a blistering attack on the reliance clubs have on poker machines,infuriating his Nationals colleagues.
The state Labor leader wants to see the results of an expanded trial,saying a previous one in Newcastle was “clearly not enough to get an evidence base to make a change”.
Labor MPs are warning of “collective post-traumatic stress disorder” after clubs and pubs waged war against Julia Gillard a decade ago.
The premier said he would not sign any pre-election agreement with ClubsNSW until the NSW Crime Commission report is addressed.
Profits from gaming machines at clubs and pubs in the state hit a record $3.8 billion in the first half of 2022.
The abandonment of the government’s bill thwarts a push to make cashless gaming cards mandatory before the election.