Victorian gamblers will be forced to set binding limits of daily poker machine losses,gaming venues will be made to close for at least six hours a day,and poker machines will have slower spin timesunder changes announced by Victorian Premier Dan Andrews on Sunday.
The surprise overhaul will leave NSW with weaker anti-money laundering and gambling harm minimisation regulations than Victoria,sparking warnings that more criminal activity could now shift north of the border.
Costello accused Premier Chris Minns of running a “protection racket” for the gambling industry.
“If Dan Andrews can escape the thrall of clubs and hotels associations on pokies,it’s time for Chris Minns to follow suit,” he said.
An investigationby the NSW Crime Commission into money laundering via poker machines last year found billions of dollars of annual electronic gaming machine turnover was probably “the proceeds of crime”,and it recommended the introduction of cashless gambling cards.
Thevast sums of cash flowing through poker machines in pubs and clubs makes NSW the “gambling capital of Australia”,the commission said.