NSW Premier Criticized Over Cashless Pokies Reform U-Turn

New South Wales’ premier, Chris Minns, is drawing fire from charities, advocates, and even members of his own party after suggesting he might abandon plans for cashless poker machines, an idea proposed by an independent reform panel.

 $24M in Daily Losses During First Quarter 

Labor backbencher David Saliba, whose seat covers western Sydney, did not mince his words, saying that his electorate has “felt the brunt of gambling-related harm for too long” and requires stronger protections.

The reform push stems from a 2022 NSW Crime Commission report, which highlighted the risk of money laundering through the state’s nearly 90,000 poker machines. 

That report urged a ban on cash and anonymous play. A trial launched in early 2024 aimed to test cashless systems, and it was billed as a way to better monitor and reduce gambling harm. 

However, the trial’s first quarter recorded $24 million in daily losses to poker machines.

Despite having only 14 “genuine and active” users, the expert panel backed mandatory cashless gaming by 2028. 

Six months on, the government hasn’t formally responded. On Friday, following a harsh audit of poker machine regulation, Minns openly criticised the trial. 

“Despite everybody’s best effort to have cashless gaming rolled out across NSW gaming, it’s largely proved to be ineffective,” he said.

“It hasn’t worked, it’s not driven down the incidents of problem gambling, the take-up rate has been lower than we thought, the cost of compliance is enormous, astronomical.”, the Premier added. 

He went on to say that he cannot truly justify fueling millions into a compliance network for pubs and clubs when the purpose is to “be putting money into new public schools and brand new public transport”.

Minns added that the government wants to proceed “in a responsible way.”

Minns’ Remarks, Dismissed by Anti-Gambling Supporters 

According to The Guardian, that stance didn’t sit well with Wesley Mission, which joined the independent panel. Its general manager, Jim Wackett, accused Minns of “totally misrepresenting the outcomes of the trial.” 

Wackett called the trial “a great success” and noted that the panel failed to evaluate behavioural change, but instead focused on whether cashless tech functioned properly.

Similarly, Cara Varian, chief executive of the NSW Council of Social Service, said Minns’ comments were “concerning” and urged him to “stay focused” on the report’s recommendations, stressing that “Pokies tear people, families and communities apart.”

Greens MP Cate Faehrmann dismissed the premier’s remarks as “a cop out.” She argued that sticking with the trial’s limited scope made low participation rates predictable.

However, some in Labor were more positive. MP Saliba welcomed a recent audit finding that the government had accepted recommendations to establish harm-reduction targets. He praised the progress so far and said he’s hopeful there will be further reforms to come.

According to a report from Equity Economics in collaboration with the Alliance for Gambling Reform and Wesley Mission, gambling is responsible for generating a “black hole” in Australians’ household budgets, with total annual gambling losses of AUD 1,527 ($960) per capita for 2022/23.