Unpublished state government figures obtained by theHerald reveal how billions wagered on electronic gaming machines in clubs and pubs was distributed across NSW.
Poker machine turnover in NSW rose from $74 billion in 2019-20 to $85 billion the following year.Peter Braig
Fairfield council area had the highest poker machine turnover in 2019-20 at $7.5 billion followed by the adjacent western Sydney councils of Canterbury-Bankstown ($7.4 billion) and Cumberland ($4.6 billion). figures show Fairfield had the lowest median household income among Sydney’s 33 local government areas in 2021,while Canterbury-Bankstown was third lowest and Cumberland fourth lowest.
Turnover measures the total value of bets on gaming machines,including bets made using credits won during the course of play and is a much larger total than player losses. ClubsNSW says around 90 per cent of poker machine turnover in NSW is returned to gamblers as prizes.
But the huge sums passing through gaming machines revealed by the unpublished data has sparked fresh calls for reforms to protect problem gamblers and combat criminal activity linked to the machines.
The state’s most powerful and secretive crime-fighting agency,the NSW Crime Commission,is into poker machine money laundering in pubs and clubs. When the inquiry was announced Commissioner Michael Barnes,said:“when so much money is involved it is reasonable to suspect some level of criminal activity.”
Statewide poker machine turnover rose from $74 billion in 2019-20 to $85 billion in 2020-21,which was equivalent to a quarter of all household consumption spending in NSW during that year.
Liquor&Gaming NSW stopped publishing poker machine turnover data in 2017 but releases information on gambling losses every six months.
Victor Dominello,the state minister previously responsible for liquor and gaming in NSW,championed the introduction of a compulsory gambling card or digital wallet,linked to an Australian bank account,to help combat problem gambling and money laundering. But the reform was strongly opposed by the gambling lobby and caused deep divisions in the NSW government.
In a ministerial reshuffle last year Dominello was stripped of all responsibilities relating to liquor and gaming. He remains on the front bench as Minister for Customer Services and Digital Government,Small business and Fair Trading,but recently announced he will quit politics at the next election. One source close to the government told theHerald that Dominello had been removed from gambling-related responsibilities “for standing up to the industry.”
A long-delayed for an opt-in digital wallet for poker machine users will soon be conducted at the Wests Newcastle club. A spokesperson for Liquor&Gaming NSW said this is expected to begin in late September,“with the start date to be determined by the club.”
Stu Cameron chief executive of Wesley Mission which provides gambling counselling services said the poker machine turnover figures for 2019-20 showed how all-pervasive gambling has become in NSW and drew attention to the “incredible influence” the pro-gambling lobby has over the Labor,Liberal and National parties in the state.
“It also indicates that it’s highly likely that the pokies-based business models of clubs and pubs in NSW have enabled criminal money laundering on an industrial scale,” he said.
A spokesperson for ClubsNSW said the turnover figures were “outdated and irrelevant” given turnover does not represent player losses.
“After the crippling impact COVID has had on the club industry,any increase in spending in not-for-profit clubs is welcome,” the spokesperson said.
“Under state legislation,the number of poker machines in lower socioeconomic areas in NSW is capped.”
The spokesperson said it would be inappropriate for ClubsNSW to comment on the NSW Crime Commission’s inquiry into money laundering until the inquiry is completed and the findings released.
Wesley Mission recently used historical national gambling data published by the Queensland Statisticians Office to estimate poker machine losses in NSW have totalled
Cameron said reforms were urgently needed to reduce poker machine gambling harm and combat money laundering.
He called for bets on poker machines in clubs and hotels to be limited to $1;implementation of a cashless gaming smart card system;extending curfews on gaming venues and giving local councils the right to limit the number of machines in their area.
“The gambling industry in NSW,for its size,is subject to startlingly low levels of regulation and public scrutiny when compared with other large industries such as mining,waste management and construction,” Cameron said.
-With Nigel Gladstone
Gambling information and support is available at GambleAware 1800 858 858