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The peak body for the state’s social and community services, New South Wales Council of Social Service (NCOSS) has welcomed the gambling reform package announced by the Minns Government, saying the changes include practical measures that will reduce gambling harm in NSW.
But NCOSS warns that the package leaves out important measures recommended by the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform that would do the most to prevent harm before it starts.
NCOSS supports:
- Establishing a statewide exclusion register, which includes a third-party exclusion scheme
- Transitioning to a two-way communications protocol to enable account-based play
- Banning gaming-linked VIP programs
- Investing in an additional $20million in the Responsible Gambling Fund
- Improved regulatory oversight, including stronger enforcement of the rules
- Greater restrictions on advertising and marketing
- Measures to reduce the number of poker machines across NSW
NCOSS CEO Cara Varian has urged the NSW Government to implement these commitments as quickly as possible.
Under today’s announcement, account-based play will be voluntary, with no timetable for a decision on going further. Older machines will keep accepting up to $5,000 in a single load-up, ten times the $500 limit on new machines. The maximum bet stays at $10 a spin, double the limit in most other states.
NCOSS CEO Cara Varian, who served on the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform, said: “Gambling harm turns up in our members’ services every week as rent that can’t be paid, fridges that sit empty and families under enormous strain.
“There is real progress in this package. A statewide exclusion register and a way for families to step in when someone they love is in trouble, are reforms NCOSS has sought for years. Ending VIP schemes and pulling gambling ads off public assets is good public policy that aligns with community expectations.
“Mandatory account-based gaming with sensible default limits was the engine of the Panel’s Roadmap, and it has been parked as a voluntary option with no date for a decision.
“We will work constructively with the Government on getting these reforms right. What we are asking for is a timetable for the implementation of this measure, the implementation of statewide mandatory account-based gambling, lower bet and load-up limits and legislated longer shutdown period rather than just a review.”
The gambling reforms follow a motion passed at last month’s NSW Labor Conference committing the party to take ‘decisive action’ on problem gambling and the growing use of poker machines; and a Sydney Summit co-hosted by Inner West Council, Wesley Mission and NCOSS which heard from experts about the growing gambling crisis in NSW.