Cybersecurity will be a key focus for the yet-to-be-appointed independent panel to oversee the New South Wales government’s cashless gambling trial, after a smaller pilot program was hit by hackers.
The state’s gaming minister, David Harris, made the assurances after a trial at a major Newcastle venue had to be shut down after it was targeted by a ransomware attack.
Harris said the panel would be announced “very soon” ahead of the government’s self-imposed 1 July deadline and that it would be asked to look closely at any potential personal data vulnerabilities.
“Amongst the focus areas of the panel will be the data security and privacy protection of trial participants,” he said.
“The NSW government strongly believes any cashless gaming trial must have secure privacy and data protections in place.”
It was revealed this week that a trial at Wests Newcastle – run with poker machine company Aristocrat Gaming and digital payment processing firm Banktech – was targeted in a ransomware attack.
Wests then terminated the trial, which was nearing completion.
“Our digital wallet technology provider, Banktech, has informed us of a cyber incident in the digital wallet infrastructure that they provide to Wests,” the Wests Group Australia’s chief executive, Philip Gardner, said.
“The service provider, responsible for the digital wallet infrastructure, has taken immediate action by engaging the expertise of a security specialist, to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.”
Backtech told Wests that no personal data has been compromised.
Gardener said the company would keep users informed of any developments and pass on relevant information to the government.
An Aristocrat Gaming spokesperson confirmed the incident was detected towards the end of the trial as the groups involved were preparing to deactivate the technology.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to provide updates to relevant stakeholders of the Digital Wallet trial if required as Banktech’s investigation progresses,” the spokesperson said.
Detectives from the NSW police cybercrime squad were investigating the alleged ransomware attack, alongside Cyber Security NSW.
“The matter is being investigated under Strike Force Orcus,” a spokesperson said.
The attack is believed to be an isolated event.
The oversight panel was part of the government’s pre-election promise to help tackle the state’s gambling problem and money laundering, as outlined in a 2022 crime commission report that found criminals were funnelling billions of dollars of “dirty” cash through poker machines every year.
Labor promised a 12-month trial of a cashless gaming card on 500 poker machines in clubs and pubs, but the government has this week been accused of bowing to pressure from gambling lobbyists amid a delay.
The panel will include members of the industry and law enforcement, as well as health and gambling experts and academics. It will be asked to report on the trial after a year, before it is expanded.
The chief advocate of the alliance for gambling reform, Tim Costello, said the most recent delay felt “like Groundhog Day” and urged the government to get on with setting up the panel that he feared would not be truly independent.
“It suggests that industry is still pulling the strings which is what we feared with this government,” he said.
Wesley Mission chief executive, Rev Stu Cameron, said he can understand the “nervousness, even the cynicism” from advocates as they wait to hear who is on the panel but he said he remains optimistic despite the delay.
“We would rather a short delay and get it done right rather than rush and get wrong,” he said.
The government this week also announced that from 1 July, punters will be met with a $500 cash feed-in limit for machines – down from $5000.
