An eight-month trial at Wests Newcastle was launched in October 2022 and rolled out across 144 pokie machines with 260 players participating.
A report into a cashless gaming trial was completed last September.Jason South
The state government engaged independent researcher Professor Paul Delfabbro from the University of Adelaide to design the trial methodology and evaluate the findings.
Despite handing his report to the government in September,Delfabbro is gagged from commenting on his findings after being asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
In response to regular queries from NBN News since December,a Liquor and Gaming spokesperson promised the imminent release of the report.
However,in response to queries on Tuesday to the agency,the office of Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris issued a statement saying he had referred the evaluation of the Wests Newcastle trial to the Independent Panel for Gaming Reform.
The panel will report to the NSW government on cashless gaming trials and recommend further reform in November.
Delfabbro’s findings would be considered by the independent panel as part of a report into an expanded cashless gaming trial,of about 4500 more machines across 28 venues in NSW,the spokesperson said.
It is understood the report will not be released publicly in the interim.
The trial was held in response to a scathing NSW Crime Commission report that found poker machines were being used by organised crime to wash dirty money.
As part of the trial,electronic gaming machines were fitted with technology developed by poker machine manufacturer Aristocrat that was supposed to provide players with tools to gamble responsibly.
A separate report published by Aristocrat that was provided to its board last year reveals that players were reluctant to use the new functionality and generally avoided the optional limit-setting tools that were billed as key measures for responsible gambling.
However,more than half of the trial participants agreed that setting a time limit before playing was useful while 66 per cent agreed setting a money limit before playing had a benefit,the Aristocrat report found.
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Reverend Tim Costello said:“Sadly,the government not releasing it and us having no visibility does not give us any confidence to back this trial.
“It’s as useless as saying brakes in a car are voluntary. It should have always been a trial where it was mandatory and compulsory to actually use the harm-minimisation features on the cashless card.
“It makes us all suspicious that actually the industry is being protected. There is no transparency.
“NSW is the belly of the beast – this is a massive vested interest and sometimes Mickey Mouse trials are being protected. There should be full disclosure.”
Privacy issues were also a concern during the trial – after a hacking attack resulted in data being stolen from Aristocrat in June and published online.
A spokesperson for Liquor and Gaming said:“No patron’s data was compromised in the cybersecurity incident associated with the Wests Newcastle trial.
“Applications from venues and technology manufacturers approved to participate in the trial have passed an initial rigorous assessment by Cyber Security NSW and DEIT Cyber Security.”
Wests Newcastle was contacted for comment.
Toni Ambrogetti is a reporter with NBN News.