The New South Wales government has been urged to dismiss recommendations from senior members of an independent panel on gambling reform before they are even finalised. These include what has been described as a “ridiculous” call for poker machine operating hours to remain unchanged.
A leaked confidential report by the panel’s executive committee, titled “draft roadmap for gaming reform”, also details how gamblers would still be able to anonymously use poker machines until 2028.
In 2022, a NSW Crime Commission report warned billions of dollars in “dirty” money was being gambled in pubs and clubs and called for mandatory cashless gaming to remove anonymity.
The three-person committee recommended an “account-based gaming system” that identified users but would be voluntary until 2028. The system would formally launch in 2027, with clubs invited to trial it in 2026.
The recommendation does not have unanimous support from the panel, and discussions are ongoing.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, who leads the party’s gambling portfolio, said the “account-based system” proposed by the committee sounded promising, but the 2028 rollout date was “a huge concern”.
“At this rate it doesn’t seem as though there is going to be anything resembling cashless gambling in NSW in this term of government,” Faehrmann said.
“In terms of a timeframe, waiting until 2028 for a cashless system to be mandatory is too long. But if the government commits to a mandatory cashless gambling system with teeth as a result of this review, then we would welcome that.”
Charles Livingstone, an expert in poker machines and gambling harm at Monash University, also criticised the 2028 date for mandatory participation.
“They’re kicking the can down the road,” the associate professor said. “Why 2028? That’s after the next New South Wales election. So a new government may well decide to start again or do something different.”
The committee also recommended the government “retain the minimum six-hour shutdown period, commencing no later than 4am”, and to “repeal all existing variations”.
“If a variation is to be provided, ensure it is time-limited with very stringent criteria and still provide for a continuous six-hour shut down period,” the leaked report said.
Wesley Mission, a member of the independent panel, has previously called for a 10-hour shutdown from midnight to 10am.
Samantha Thomas, a public health expert at Deakin University, said the NSW government should ignore the committee’s recommendation.
“The evidence from independent research shows that limiting the accessibility and availability of machines is important in reducing harms,” Thomas said.
Thomas cited a report commissioned by NSW Liquor and Gaming, which found that more than half of people gambling on pokies after midnight were at least at moderate risk of problem gambling.
“Surely this evidence should be front and centre in reducing operating hours at times where there are increased risks of harms,” Thomas said.
Tim Costello, the chief advocate of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said the draft recommendations seemed to suggest “glacial improvements”. He criticised calls to maintain poker machine operating hours as “ridiculous”.
“It is the accessibility and availability of poker machines, through operating hours, that are doing the damage,” Costello said. “That’s clearly an industry win.”
A spokesperson for the NSW gaming minister, David Harris, said the government would consider the recommendations once formally received.
“The government will not engage in speculation about the contents of the report,” the spokesperson said.
The panel’s three executive committee members are Michael Foggo, a former commissioner of NSW Liquor, Gaming and Racing, Dr Ursula Stephens, a former NSW Labor senator, and Niall Blair, a former deputy leader of the NSW Nationals.
The panel includes members of NSW police, Clubs NSW, the Australian Hotels Association, Gaming Technologies Australia, Leagues Club Australia, the trustee of the Responsible Gambling Fund, NSW Council of Social Services, Wesley Mission, the United Workers Union, two academics, and one person with lived experience.
