With poker machine reform making its way into the Australian Senate, many responsible gambling advocates have become optimistic about passing new gambling laws in the country. Senator Nick Xenophon, who has a history of fighting for safe gambling laws in the country, has taken this opportunity to present his own poker machine legislation, which aims to fight money laundering in casinos and other gambling venues.
“The hotels and clubs industry have previously stated they don't want to accept a cent from problem gamblers,” says Xenophon. “It stands to reason that they wouldn't want to accept the proceeds of crime either”. The ‘tip of the iceberg’, according to Xenophon, is a case in which a pensioner and his family cashed in $630 000 worth of pokies winning over the course of 4 months this year.
The hotel at which the money was wagered did not alert the authorities, allowing the group to get away with potentially laundering money. Xenophon’s bill deals with concerns that money laundering has been made easy using poker machines. In casinos, there are safeguards in place to prevent punters from playing card and table games to launder money and Xenophon would like to see the same care taken with pokies.
In fact, since poker machines are not has heavily regulated as card and table games, they have become the most popular outlet for criminals who wish to launder their money. All players do is deposit thousands of dollars, spin the reels a few times and then cash out their ticket.
As it stands, any wins worth more than $10 000 are reported to the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, which examines the case for signs of money laundering. Xenophon has presented a bill that changes this, which aims to have all winnings worth just $1000 reported to AUSTRAC. The bill would also ensure that all winnings worth more than $1000 are paid out via cheque, in order to prevent criminals from dealing in cash.
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