More than 500 new poker machines installed in NSW despite Chris Minns promising to slash numbers

The number of poker machines in NSW increased by 550 since March, leading to an increase in gambling losses, Wesley Mission says. Photograph: Loren Elliott/Reuters

More than 500 new poker machines have been installed since Labor won office in New South Wales last year, despite a campaign pledge to cut their numbers in pubs and clubs.

In January 2023, two months before the state election, the now premier, Chris Minns, declared a Labor government would “reduce the number of poker machines” in NSW.