More than 4400 electric gaming machines will be added to the New South Wales cashless gaming trial, including clubs that have raked in some of the state’s highest pokies profits. Source: NCA Newswire.
About five per cent of the state’s 86,872 gaming machines – 4485 machines in 20 clubs and eight hotels across 17 metro local government areas and seven regional areas – have been conditionally approved to participate, subject to meeting cybersecurity requirements.
The new clubs participating in the trial, slated to begin in the first quarter of next year, encompass some of the state’s top-earning venues for gaming machine profit.
These includes Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club (ranked fourth with 450 machines), the Cabra-Vale Ex-Active Servicemen’s Club (ranked fifth with 450 machines), and West HQ, which was formerly the Rooty Hill RSL Club (ranked seventh with 705 machines), according to Liquor and Gaming data collected from clubs between December 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023.
The policy is a significant expansion of the original 500-machine trial, which had been criticised by welfare groups as being too small.
Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris said the cashless gaming trial had been well-received by the industry.
“The strong interest in participating in the cashless gaming trial proves just how serious clubs and hotels are about working with the Government to reduce gambling harm and money laundering associated with electronic gaming machines,” he said.
The venues were endorsed by the Independent Panel into Gaming Reform, with more than 250 machines having already completed trials at Wests City in Newcastle and Club York in Sydney’s CBD.
To participate in the trial, hotels and clubs needed to prove they met minimum requirements such as harm minimisation protections, anti-money laundering protections, data security and privacy protections, with the results of the trials used to develop future cashless gaming policy.
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‘Landmark’ cashless gaming trial expanded to another 4400 machines across NSW pubs, hotels (By Jessica Wang, NCA Newswire via News.com.au)
