NSW Labor promised a cashless gaming trial,but it was always doomed to fail. Now it has an even bigger problem.
The Australian Hotels Association sat on the advisory panel for gambling reform – but it has strongly rejected its final recommendations for account-based gaming.
There are more poker machines in NSW now than when Chris Minns was elected. The government must stop hiding behind panels and trials and act on gaming reform.
Eighteen months ago,a federal government inquiry into online gambling chaired by the late Peta Murphy recommended phasing out ads over three years. Promptly,the government got on with sitting on their hands.
Gaming venues and retail are increasingly using off-the-shelf facial-recognition software,sparking high-level concern about potential risks of privacy and data security breaches.
The accidental uploading of a gambling report to government servers on Monday drew attention to an issue that was supposed to have been put into archives.
Restrictions on gambling with cash at Star’s flagship casino sent revenue plunging,adding to concerns about its viability.
Gamblers could still use cash and there would be no binding limit to the amount a poker machine player could spend under a draft proposal by the gambling reform panel.
Spending limits will be slashed and gambling machines will be slowed between spins. But reform advocates have questioned why the laws will take so long to come into effect.
The expert panel on cashless gaming is bound by confidentiality agreements not to discuss its recommendations. But a study released by one panel member gives an insight into its deliberations.
The cashless gaming trial is not proving much of a test.