Tuesday, 3 December 2024
NCOSS and Wesley Mission have welcomed the release of the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform Report and doubled down on the call for mandatory cashless gambling, with robust harm minimisation measures built in.
NCOSS CEO Cara Varian said the poker machine industry makes billions of dollars every year at the expense of the 1.7 million NSW people who directly or indirectly experience gambling harm[1].
“While an industry has the right to protect its interests, the NSW Government has a duty to act in the best interests of its citizens, and that requires bold action on gambling reform,” Ms Varian said.
“The purpose of the trial was to test the technology, and the technology passed that test.
“The gambling industry has been quick to label this cashless trial a ‘failure’ due to low participation, but that doesn’t stack up.
“You cannot label a voluntary trial a failure because of low participation, when no one is required to sign up in the first place.
“Criticising the uptake of this trial is like voluntarily introducing seatbelts and then blaming their absence for the subsequent rising road death toll.
“It proves the very point that mandatory cashless gambling with inbuilt harm minimisation measures is the only way forward.”
Wesley Mission CEO Rev Stu Cameron said there is evidence in Victoria that mandatory cashless gambling works.
“Crown in Melbourne have implemented mandatory cashless gambling and saw a huge uptake in participation, with more than 400,000 people signing up for cards because there was no other option,” Rev Cameron said.
“It is important to take the lessons from Crown Melbourne to create a system that is universal across every pub and club so it’s easy to use, provides confidence to people about the security of their data and gives control back to gamblers who are using the poker machines that have been intentionally designed to increase their addictive nature.
“This won’t take away people’s ability to gamble on the pokies, but rather, it will give people more control over how they gamble.
“The NSW trial has proven that the technology works. It is now about implementing the technology to reduce gambling harm and effectively clamp down on money laundering.”
NSW sadly leads the nation in poker machine losses, with more than $8.1 billion lost in 2023 (or $1,000 for every adult and child in the state), which is the highest per capita poker machine loss in the world.
NSW is home to more than 87,000 poker machines, and is deep in the grip of a gambling harm public health crisis.
The Federal Government is taking strong action on social media reforms because of the harm it is causing our children. There is evidence and they acted.
The same principal should apply to pokies in NSW. There is clear evidence of harm, we now need to take a public health approach and implement protections that work.
ENDS
NCOSS MEDIA CONTACT: Billy Briggs | 0474 697 235 | billy.briggs@h-advisors.global
WESLEY MEDIA CONTACT: Jim Wackett | jim.wackett@wesleymission.org.au