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“Mr Stolz seeks to portray himself as a saint,” the statement said.

“The truth is,he initiated baseless legal actions against ClubsNSW,then used every opportunity which gullible media would provide in order to seek millions of dollars in ‘go away’ money from ClubsNSW.

ClubsNSW has secured a commitment from the NSW Liberal party ahead of each of the last three elections not to introduce new poker machine regulations.Credit:Nick Moir

“If a whistle is blown,it should be in relation to the blatant self-interest and lies of Troy Stolz as well as the failure of media to challenge his bogus assertions or ask simple questions of him based on a moment’s research.”

However,Stolz said ClubsNSW had authored the document that he released which is at the centre of the dispute,and the poor compliance rates were its own admission. He also rejected the allegation that he was after money,pointing to his poor prognosis. “I’m not going to be able to spend it where I’m going,” he said.

The lobby group’s comments come as the NSW Crime Commission is due to hand down the results of its investigation into money laundering in licensed venues. The findings will test the longstanding reticence on both sides of state politics to regulate the industry,with an election to be held in six months.

The NSW Liberal party has signed a memorandum of understanding with ClubsNSW ahead of each of the last three elections,including a commitment to maintain the existing regulatory regime and not to increase taxation. In 2019,Labor made the same pledge.

Minister for Hospitality and Racing Kevin Anderson did not respond to a question about whether the government planned to sign a new MoU. He said:“The NSW Government works with stakeholders across different sectors at all times on issues of importance,and will continue to do so in the lead up to the next election.”

NSW Labor,which was forced to back down on a plan to increase tax on poker machine profits in 2003,is yet to commit to a clubs policy. A spokeswoman for Opposition Leader Chris Minns said the party was still talking to clubs and anti-gambling advocates.

NSW Independent MP Justin Field said the MoU between ClubsNSW and the government represented “a commitment not to regulate in the public interest”.

“ClubsNSW have now shown themselves to be almost bad faith actors here,particularly in the way they’ve treated Troy who rightly or wrongly released confidential information,but it has called into question a very serious issue that has now been entirely legitimised by the NSW Crime Commission investigation,” Field said.

ClubsNSW said the commitments made by the parties at the last election demonstrated that thousands of people’s livelihoods and millions of people’s entertainment relied on operating conditions set by the government.

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