The so-called ClubGrants scheme has handed out more than $1 billion to community groups in NSW since it was established in the late 1990s,but it’s also been the subject of sharp criticism because of concerns over a lack of regulation.
Those concerns came into focus when the NSW Council of Social Service,or NCOSS,announced that it wanted to end its involvement with the scheme after it conducted a review which found the grants were“seriously flawed,rife with opportunities for conflicts of interest,and had no real enforcement of the rules”.
The scheme allows clubs to receive a tax rebate off profits from poker machines by donating money to causes that make a contribution to the “welfare and broader social fabric”. But rules governing the scheme mean clubs can donate some of that money to organisations which it owns or has links to.
The government will announce that it plans to review the scheme on Thursday,alongside its long-awaited trial into cashless gaming on 500 machines in clubs and pubs across the state.
The trial,which was due to be announced at the beginning of this month,was a key election commitment during a campaign dominated by poker machine reform.
It will be headed by the former NSW gaming commissioner Michael Foggo,as well as former Labor senator Ursula Stephens and Deputy NSW Nationals leader Niall Blair.