New South Wales Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said that he was “very much against” the previously discussed government-issued gambling cards. In a parliamentary estimates hearing, he stated that the gambling industry should be in charge of developing this card, not the government.
The Customer Service Minister is advocating for reforms to prevent money laundering in New South Wales. What’s more, he has publicly supported reforms for poker machines since last year. He believes that the government shouldn’t issue a cashless card for pokies as that would end up being “poor design”.
This is important news for the gambling industry in New South Wales, as Minister Dominello is responsible for gambling. With this stance, he has effectively distanced the government from the previously-discussed plan regarding the cashless card.
He believes that the government shouldn’t be the card’s designer, as it isn’t in the business of gambling. It’s something that the industry itself should deal with, as it has much better insight into how the card should look and operate.
He also stated that this is his personal view, which should first be put up before the cabinet. However, from a design perspective, he firmly believes that a government-issued cashless card would simply not be as effective as one made by people from the industry.
It’s an interesting development, but Minister Dominello has already faced opposition by several government members from his own block, especially Deputy Premier John Barilaro, who said that the proposed reforms are not good as the Nationals would never support them.
What’s more, pubs and clubs are also against Minister Dominello’s reforms. ClubsNSW has recently submitted a proposal to the gaming machine technology working group initiated by the government to deal with a new digital wallet trial. Their plan advocates quarantining large pokie payouts and includes spending limits for players.
Money Laundering Problems in New South Wales
The NSW government views money laundering as a big problem in pubs and clubs, and its estimates state that 20% of the money that goes through poker machines in New South Wales is related to organised crime, which is certainly not a small percentage.
A report from just one local government area stated that there were repeated cases of possible money laundering in a single 12-hour period on August 4, 2020.
To put things into perspective, the 95,000 machines in the state yield $1 billion in taxes every year while also creating up to 100,000 jobs.
This sophisticated gambling machine infrastructure will generate $2.8 billion in taxes for this financial year, a significant 27% increase from the last fiscal year.
Commissioner Patricia Bergin stated in her report on Crown Resorts’ ability to have a licence in the new casino in Sidney that a gambling card would represent a robust mechanism against money laundering.
Minister Dominello believes that a gambling card would locate problem gamblers as it would be tracking player behaviour, but that it needs to be in the industry’s domain, with the government still having proper oversight.
He has already gained heavy support from One Nation and the Greens for his plans during 2020 and firmly believes that almost any problem should be tackled with a digital solution first.
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