This week, the New South Wales government signed a deal with Maxgaming which will proving monitoring systems for gaming machines across the state. This is a new regulatory tool that will help to maintain the integrity of pokie gambling in NSW. The Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) will be operated until 2032 by MaxGaming. To secure the deal, the licensee paid $209 million to the NSW government.
All clubs and hotels will then be required to pay Maxgaming for providing the CMS service, which will cost $43.20 per game per month. The new CMS will serve a number of valuable purposes for the gaming machine industry in New South Wales. Firstly, it will help gaming operators and authorities to more effectively detect money laundering and fraud.
It will also ensure that games are not played outside of the approved times, which helps as a harm minimisation measure to potentially reduce problem gambling rates in the state. Venues will also benefit from the new CMS system from a business perspective. By providing admin tools like cash flow reports and analysis, it will help operators run their businesses more effectively and keep track of their players.
“The CMS is an important regulatory tool to which all gaming machines in NSW clubs and hotels must be connected to monitor and ensure the integrity of gaming machine operations and to calculate taxes payable on gaming machine revenues,” says a spokesperson for Liquor and Gaming NSW. This is an important step in reducing the potential harm of gambling on poker machines.
It will not only help to stop crimes like money laundering but also has the potential to reduce problem gambling rates among players in NSW clubs and hotels.