NSW Wants Pubs with 20 Poker Machines to Have RG Officers

This mostly came with no strings attached from the government, other than preparing the necessary paperwork and making sure that certain standards for responsible gambling and underage gambling have been observed.

Poker Machines Now Need a RG Officer to Tend to Customers

Yet, a wave of regulatory changes across the state will now expect pubs and other venues that have at least 20 poker machines to a more rigorous standard whereby they also employ Responsible Gambling Officers whose purpose will be to determine whether a patron is at risk of harm.

Venues that have more than 20 poker machines will only employ a single such person, but if the poker machines exceed 100, then additional staff will have to take over. There is a grace period still, as venues will be given time to adapt, and not least – the measure is not going to come into effect until July 1, 2024.

Once it does, businesses will have further time to make sure that they are compliant with the law. “The introduction of Responsible Gambling Officers is the next important step in supporting people who may be experiencing gambling harm,” has been vastly welcomed by responsible gambling groups and advocates, including Clubs NSW, an industry body, that said it was very much for the proposed changes.

The group’s CEO, Rebecca Riant, said that she was very much for minimizing harm and that the 1,200 members of the trade group were prepared to comply with the measures as necessary to ensure that patrons are protected and out of harm’s way.

The measure does put a financial burden on businesses that will now have to train and find qualified individuals as the nation, and New South Wales in particular, is responding to a growing need for a more scrupulous approach towards responsible gambling.

New South Wales Toughens Measures on Gambling

More measures are forthcoming. Some, such as the removal of gambling inducements from physical signs outside of pubs and clubs, have also come into effect, but others, including the restriction of AU$500 ($330) input into a poker machine are to take effect later.

Australia is also flirting with the introduction of a mandatory cashless payment option, which is so far stuck between different trials, and which has caused rather more indignation than other measures. Clubs have spoken out against the measure arguing that the government equates their clientele to criminals, and raised data standards.

Clubs have come under a lot of scrutiny recently, with some penalized for having ATMs next to their gaming rooms.