Despite the powerful Crime Commission insisting that cashless cards were critical to combating money laundering,Labor leader Chris Minns would also not take a position,instead citing a report which he says claims the technology could do more harm than good.
Minns said the opposition had not seen any proposals from the government so could not give a “straightforward,blank cheque agreement to a policy issue”.
“The reason for that is you have got an industry that says they don’t have the resources to roll out the technology immediately to within a truncated timeframe,” Minns said.
“The second thing is that you’ve got a report from the Victorian[Responsible] Gambling Foundation that indicates that it may induce demand when it comes to problem gambling as a result of there not being a sense of how much you are losing.”
The July 2020 report for the foundation found that cashless payment methods have an “easy money” effect and that cash is better for capping spending.
Minns’ comments incensed independent MP Alex Greenwich,who has made it clear the introduction of a mandatory cashless gaming card was his priority and would determine which party he would support in the event of another minority government after the March election.
“Rather than questioning the Crime Commission report,Labor should be asking why it is so important for ClubsNSW that the proceeds of crime are being washed through their venues,” Greenwich said.
“It is in Labor seats where the most gambling harm is being done,they should be looking after people not pokies.”
Greenwich and the other key independents,Greg Piper and Joe McGirr,want Perrottet to establisha special commission of inquiry into the undue influence clubs and pubs have on the major parties.
They wrote to the premier on Wednesday,calling for a powerful inquiry into “gambling harm and the influence of the gambling industry over public policy”.
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Their push came after the governmentscrapped a bill to reform registered clubs. A component of that bill would have allowed facial recognition technology in pubs and clubs for the purposes of keeping out people who had self-identified as problem gamblers.
ClubsNSW is proceeding with its plans to implement the technology in compliance with existing privacy laws.
Facial recognition technology was not looked at as part of the money laundering investigation,with NSW Crime Commissioner Michael Barnes questioning how it would address money laundering.
“What would you do,put in anyone who’s ever been convicted of drug dealing and all of those suspected of drug dealing? In many cases,middle-range drug dealers are only found when they’re arrested and prosecuted,” Barnes said.
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