NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says the government needs to ensure future generations do not tip their life savings into poker machines.Credit:Brook Mitchell
Perrottet said he was working with the industry to develop a response to a NSW Crime Commission report that warned poker machines were being used to launder millions in illegal cash.
The government is expected to announce a trial of cashless gambling technology across NSW in coming months,although Perrottet would not reveal whether it would be a mandatory or opt-in program.
“We have an obligation to look after our most vulnerable. We are going to do it,it’s non-negotiable,” he said.
“It’s about doing what’s right,that’s what I’m focused on … there is a problem and that problem needs to be fixed.”
Labor leaderChris Minns on Wednesday said while he would be open to reforming the gambling industry,he wanted to know the full economic impact any major changes would have on the 170,000-strong workforce.
Perrottet accused Minns of playing politics with the issue,rather than accepting that change needed to occur.
“Whatever the Labor Party are saying is really a matter for them,but … it’s not about the next election. It’s about doing what’s right. That’s why you go into public life,that’s what I’m focused on doing,” he said.