NSW proposes ban on political donations from clubs with pokies
The New South Wales government aims to reduce the influence of the gambling industry on politics in the state.
Australia.- The New South Wales government has proposed a law that would ban political donations from clubs with gaming machines. The amendment to the electoral funding act would subject clubs to the same prohibitions as other gambling businesses, property developers, tobacco businesses and liquor companies.
The Labor Party had promised a ban before the March election along with the introduction mandatory cashless gaming to reduce problem gambling and criminal activity with clubs. The state’s new government has also pledged to reduce the feed-in limit for new gaming machines to AU$500, ban external signage promoting gaming, including “VIP lounge” signage, and reduce the number of machines in the state.
Meanwhile, the government has vowed to set up an independent panel of experts to oversee an expanded 12-month trial of cashless gaming before committing to a rollout.
The state regulator, Liquor and Gaming NSW has reported that gamblers lost AU$4.3bn (US$2.8m) to poker machines in the second half of 2022. That’s AU$820m more than before the Covid-19 pandemic.
