Gambling reforms welcomed but fall short

NEW South Wales Council of Social Service (NCOSS) has welcomed the gambling reform package announced by the Minns Government, saying the changes include practical measures that will reduce gambling harm in NSW.

However, the peak body for the state’s social and community services warns that the package leaves out important measures recommended by the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform that would do the most to prevent harm before it starts.

Gambling reform impacts the Coffs Coast. Although it ranks in the middle of NSW LGAs for losses per person on gaming machines, it still cost every resident ~$134 last quarter.

NCOSS said it supports the transition to a two-way communications protocol to enable account-based play and the establishment of a statewide exclusion register, which includes a third-party exclusion scheme.

It also supports banning gaming-linked VIP programs, investing an additional $20 million in the Responsible Gambling Fund, improved regulatory oversight, including stronger enforcement of the rules, greater restrictions on advertising and marketing and measures to reduce the number of poker machines across NSW

Under the announcement, account-based play will be voluntary, with no timetable for a decision on going further.

Older machines will keep accepting up to $5,000 in a single load-up, 10 times the $500 limit on new machines.

The maximum bet stays at $10 a spin, double the limit in most other states.

NCOSS CEO Cara Varian, who served on the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform, said, “Gambling harm turns up in our members’ services every week as rent that can’t be paid, fridges that sit empty and families under enormous strain.

“There is real progress in this package,” Ms Varian said.

“A statewide exclusion register and a way for families to step in when someone they love is in trouble are reforms NCOSS has sought for years.

“Ending VIP schemes and pulling gambling ads off public assets is good public policy that aligns with community expectations.”

But, she said, “Mandatory account-based gaming with sensible default limits was the engine of the Panel’s Roadmap, and it has been parked as a voluntary option with no date for a decision.

“We will work constructively with the Government on getting these reforms right.

“What we are asking for is a timetable for the implementation of this measure, the implementation of statewide mandatory account-based gambling, lower bet and load-up limits and legislated longer shutdown period rather than just a review.”

Greens MP and gambling harm minimisation spokesperson Cate Faehrmann was less diplomatic.

She said the gaming reform package failed the test when it came to genuine poker machine reform, tackling money laundering, and reducing the skyrocketing and increasing rates at which people were losing money to poker machines in NSW.

Ms Faehrmann said, “The Minns Government commissioned expert advice, received expert advice, and then ignored the most important recommendations.

“Most of the core elements of its package aren’t mandatory, or are being kicked years down the road or waiting for yet another review.

“The NSW Crime Commission’s landmark Project Islington found that a significant amount of money flowing through poker machines was likely to be the proceeds of crime and recommended mandatory cashless gaming as the key reform to tackle money laundering.”

Ms Faehrmann said Labor had now spent more than three years in government without implementing the transformative reforms needed to address poker machine harm.

“The government has also admitted people are at higher risk of harm from poker machines in the early hours of the morning, and its response is yet another review,” Ms Faehrmann said.

“We don’t need another review to tell us that pokies should be switched off when gambling harm is highest – between midnight and 10am.

“We don’t need another round of reviews and voluntary measures, we need the government to act on the evidence it already has.”

By Andrew VIVIAN