NSW Fails to Enact Important RG Reforms, Auditor Says

The auditor general in New South Wales has produced a damning report on the state of gambling reform, arguing that the government has been slow to reduced gambling-related harm, primarily tied to 90,000 poker machines, as land-based slots are called in Australia. Plans to remove thousands of machines are supposedly underway, but the government has been hesitant on this count as well.

Poker Machines Not Properly Addressed by Governments

Worse than that, the government was said to be doing “relatively little” to try and better the situation of these establishments and whether they actually try to implement and uphold strong responsible gambling safeguards.

The report is not a one-off, and it has covered an extensive period from 2019 through mid-2024, focusing on both Labor and Coalition governments, and therefore outlining a sort of lethargy across the entire political spectrum insofar as addressing problem gambling is concerned.

In its assessment, the Department of Creative Industries, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport has outlined an issue with the way any government has moved with the issue, arguing specifically that there was no clear and evidence-based approach about what the best course of action would be.

Specifically, the report argues that lawmakers are trying to act on what they think looks good on paper, but without an actual understanding of gambling-related harm or how to set realistic targets on harm reduction, specifically tied to gambling machines. In a statement, the auditor said:

“The department does not have benchmarks, targets, or other performance measures in place to assess outcomes against key measures of harm minimisation.”

No Need to Play the Blame Game – All Are at Fault

Yet, if there is a perceived lack of understanding, it’s primarily “self-made,” as no government has made a genuine effort to evaluate compliance programs and the impact on harm minimization introduced.

As such, the regulator cannot really tell if one measure has been effective in minimizing gambling harm. However, what is known is that there has been an 8.5% jump in calls to GambleAware in 2023-24 alone, with the results indicating that there is indeed more people spending money on gambling, and in a way that prompts them to seek help.

Not only that, but Australians in New South Wales alone may be losing as much as AU$24m a day. At the same time, revenue from gambling machines is set to increase to AU$2.91 billion by 2027-28, as confirmed by the auditor, which has to do with the fact that people are gambling more and spending larger amounts.

Need to Measure the Real-World Impact of Gambling Measures

In the meantime, others have pitched in to comment on the auditor’s findings, with Caroline Lamb, who is chair of the state’s independent liquor and gaming watchdog, saying that the findings were a good time to start acknowledging the collective responsibility of stakeholders to help minimize harm.

David Harris, the state’s gaming minister, has objected to arguing that the government has already implemented a number of measures to achieve just that, with the most prominent example being the fact that the cash limit on slots has been reduced from $5,000 to $500.

Amid surging gambling spending and engagement, however, there is little to suggest that these measures are actually working as of right now. As the auditor said, there is no real follow-through to gauge measures’ effectiveness.