Media: ALP ‘can do better’ on Pokies

NSW ALP Gambling Reform package (source)

The Dean of Sydney, Sandy Grant, a long-time campaigner for poker machine reform in NSW, has responded to the NSW ALP’s launch of its gambling reform policy today.

He said:

Although I am pleased to see some helpful steps in the ALP's proposals that will be helpful, the ALP can do better by committing to the principal of introducing a cashless gaming card, with mandatory pre-commitment, for poker machine use right across NSW.

With NSW losses on poker machines approaching $8 billion per annum – that’s over $20 million/day! – we urgently need “Airbags on Pokies”.

Why won’t the ALP commit to the critical step of the cashless card already recommended by gambling counsellors gambling researchers, independent of the pubs, clubs and casinos who profit? This step is widely supported across the board by :

Sandy Grant, Dean of Sydney

• the NSW Police Commissioner,

• the NSW Crime Commission,

• Crown Casino Commissioner Bergin,

• the Productivity Commission,

• Unions NSW,

• the United Workers Union,

• the Health Services Union,

• RSL Australia President (in his personal capacity),

• Financial Counsellors Association of NSW,

• NCOSS (NSW Council of Social Services),

• Wesley Mission,

• Anglicare Sydney,

• the Arab Council Australia,

• Suicide Prevention Australia,

• the Greens,

• the Liberal Party,

• many Independent MPs, and

• a wide coalition of NSW churches, both urban and rural – including the NSW Council of Churches, Sydney Anglicans, regional Anglicans, the Uniting Church, the Salvation Army!

Dean Grant added:

In Tasmania Labor has seen fit to join the Liberals in a bipartisan introduction of a cashless gaming card. Why not in NSW, where the levels of damage are so much higher?

In my view, to ignore such a wide-spread multi-partisan coalition calling for this reform, including conservatives and progressives, secular and religious, unions and judicial officers, calls into question the wisdom and suitability of the ALP as a potential party of government and good public policy in NSW.

Further detailed commentary follows.

The good points

• Accelerated Forfeiture rates for Machine Transfers

• Reduce Gaming Machine Caps (albeit just formalising what is already happening)

• Ban on External Gaming Advertising and related Signage

• Introduce RGOs at all venues

• Ban Donations from Clubs

  • I would add that real time disclosure of political donations from all clubs or pubs or related entities should also apply.

• Introduce Third Party Exclusion for pubs and clubs

These are all good steps and I am pleased to see them.

Not good enough

• Reduce Cash Inputs on Pokies from $5K to $500.

  • This is a good idea, but why set the maximum at $500 when two states (Qld and SA) already have $100 cash limit, the ACT is moving to a $100 cash limit. In addition, WA does not have pokies in pubs or clubs, and Tasmania is effectively moving to a $100/day limit via the cashless card. Why can't NSW move to $100, or at least a $200 cash load up limit, in keeping with better practice elsewhere? Why adopt a reform that still leaves us lagging near the ‘back of the pack’?

The disappointments

• Expanded Trial Cashless Card

  • It is good that in the areas where it is trialled it will apparently be mandatory, but until it is state-wide, a trial that only takes in a few venues in an area will be liable to users - certainly in urban areas - taking their machine use to neighbouring venues outside trial zones. This largely invalidates any value for researching impact of a universal card. In addition, we have already had voluntary trials of such cashless cards and/or of pre-commitment, which has shown benefit to those who opted in!

• No mention of longer compulsory shut-down periods, ideally from midnight, where rates of gambling harm are notably even higher.

• $100M Fund (for harm minimisation programs.

  • This amount of money sounds impressive but is tiny compared to the $2Billion+ in tax revenue the NSW Government expects to receive just on pubs and clubs gaming devices (pokies and Keno) in 2022-23 FY, along with another $230M from the casinos.

  • I.e. it’s less than 5% of the gaming tax take on pubs, clubs and casinos.

• Mandatory facial recognition in pubs and clubs.

  • This step has not been requested by gambling counsellors nor gambling or health researchers. In fact, all those I know of recommend strongly against it.

  • If it applies to all patrons of all venues, then it is a very large and intrusive expansion of of data collection by the venues and raises deep associated personal privacy issues. If it applies to those who voluntarily self-exclude, it brings the barrier of stigma to those who might be open to recognising a problem, along with the above-mentioned concerns about data security and privacy, which may discourage use of the system.

  • It would be better to link the possibility of self-exclusion to a mandatory universal cashless card linked to a person’s bank account and ID but administered independently of the venues (e.g. by government agency with government standard data protection, as we already experience with a variety of state and federal apps). Since this applies to all, and does not involve the venues collecting personal information, it reduces anxiety about stigma or privacy.

Conclusion

The problem is massive: between $7B-$8B will have been lost on poker machines in NSW in 2022. That’s between $19M-$22M/day! (e.g. source)

The Productivity Commission estimates 40% of those losses come from problem gamblers.

The highest rates of losses are clustered in lower socio-economic areas of NSW such as Canterbury-Bankstown LGA and Fairfield LGA (where I started my pastoral ministry).

It’s also worth noting that any money not lost on the pokies does not disappear from the economy!

The money saved will be spent in other, often more productive ways, on essentials, on hospitality or other forms of entertainment, on repaying due debts, etc. Indeed evidence suggests $1million in losses through poker machines creates around 3 jobs. $1million in expenditure on food and meals creates 20 jobs.

There is wide support for a universal cashless (i.e. statewide) gaming card, with mandatory pre-commitment and self-exclusion features as the most important step towards preventing and minimising gambling harm in NSW.

A similar such system is already working Norway, and the evidence shows it reduces harms done by gambling. Voluntary pre-commitment systems have already been trialled in other states and have shown benefits to those who opted in, although the voluntary nature meant uptake was often low (source). That’s why it should be universal across the state.

This reform will also help with the current wide-spread concerns about money laundering and spending of the proceeds of crime via pubs, clubs and casinos.

While there are some useful steps in the ALP’s policy, commitment the most widely requested reform - the cashless card - is lacking, and other proposed reforms - such as reducing load up limits - need to go further. The ALP could and must do better to help NSW put pokies in the place.

Sandy Grant
Dean of Sydney
16 January 2023