Almost two-thirds of people playing poker machines into the morning are problem gamblers or at moderate risk of developing a problem, with research commissioned under the previous New South Wales government suggesting earlier venue closures could help protect punters.
The government will release the report on Friday, as it commits to banning street signs for poker machines – such as VIP Lounge signage – from all pubs and clubs by 1 September, as announced before the election.
Pubs and clubs will have three months to remove all external gaming-related signage before enforcement begins, after which a “zero-tolerance” approach will be adopted.
The Roy Morgan research, prepared for Liquor and Gaming NSW, found that 22.8% of those playing poker machines between 2am and 8am were problem gamblers, while 41.8% were classified as “moderate risk problem gambling”.
This is in contrast to problem gamblers accounting for 12.1% of all poker machine users between midnight and 2am, the report said. They also accounted for 7.3% of gamblers between 10pm and midnight, and 3.1% between 8am and 10pm.
The report found that by having pubs, clubs and casinos close earlier, problem gamblers could be helped “through having a break, allowing them to reassess their spending and time gambling”.
It said most poker machine gamblers who were gambling when venues closed, did not go to another venue and concluded that limiting venue access at night “would likely reduce problem gambling risk”.
The NSW gaming minister, David Harris, said the facades of pubs and clubs across the state would no longer be littered with reminders of gambling.
“While there are already laws in place that prohibit gaming-related signage, venue operators have circumvented these by advertising ‘VIP Lounges’,” he said.
“We are putting an end to this loophole for the health and wellbeing of our communities.”
The Minns government presented a vastly different plan to the Coalition at the March election, promising an expanded trial of cashless gaming rather than a promise to mandate a cashless system statewide.
The Roy Morgan research examined the effects of late-night poker machine use on gamblers and studied people gambling into the night. It relied on surveys of more 625 gamblers and fieldwork done during 2021 and 2022.
“Venue closures would limit access and reduce harm for late-night [electronic gaming machine] gamblers, and gamblers at risk of problem gambling, particularly for those experiencing problem gambling,” the report read.
The report also identified a group of high-risk gamblers who visited multiple different types of venues to gamble, did so more frequently, spent more money during sessions, were members of loyalty schemes across two or three venue types and were more likely to gamble alone.
“This group of EGM gamblers would benefit most from venue closures,” it said.
Researchers found recreational gamblers would be “very minimally affected” if venues closed easier given the low demand by that portion of the population.
The research also found that late-night gambling, between midnight and 8am, was more common at the Star Casino, where 21% of casino poker machine gamblers were gambling after midnight, compared with 10.5% in pubs and 7.1% in clubs.
Late-night workers made up more than a quarter of late-night gamblers and were at greater risk of problem gambling.
As such, the report concluded that “it would be expected that venue closures would reduce problem gambling and gambling harm for this group” as well.
