NSW PM says cashless gaming card will include spending limits

Dominic Perrottet announced daily spending limit could be AU$100 (US$ 69).

Australia.- New South Wales is revealing more information about the introduction of cashless gaming cards in the state. NSW prime minister, Dominic Perrottet, announced his planned cashless gaming card will include spending limits. 

Perrottet last week confirmed the cards, which would be required to use poker machines across the state, would have a cap. “You can’t have a cashless system without limits. That’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Perrottet told radio station 2GB.

Tasmania will be the first state to introduce a cashless gaming card, which will be mandatory from next year. The card will have default limits of AU$100 (US$ 69) per day, AU$500 (US$ 344) per month and AU$5000 (US$ 3,437) annually.

Perrottet aims to pursue a cashless gaming card following a damning report from the NSW Crime Commission in October which found poker machines were being used to launder money. The commission’s report recommended a cashless gaming card. The proposal faces critics from the opposition. 

Hospitality Minister and Nationals MP Kevin Anderson said he did not support the government controlling a cashless gaming card.

Josh Landis, ClubsNSW chief executive officer, has said that cashless gambling cards won’t solve the problem of money laundering as claimed by the New South Wales Crime Commission (NSWCC). 

Perrottet said he is determined to ensure that pokie rules are reformed and that may include the use of cashless gambling cards and added neither he nor his government was “going to be threatened by the New South Wales clubs’ lobby into reforming pokie machines”.

Last week, Unions NSW head Mark Morey said cashless cards would help alleviate problem gambling. He told AAP: “What I want to see is one more hurdle put in the way so that people think about what they do when they put more money into the pokie machine so they’re not churning through a whole week of wages.” 

He added: “This is not prohibition. This is a harm minimisation strategy. It’s about trying to give people time to think again before they put in more money.”

Former prime minister John Howard has thrown his full support behind Premier Dominic Perrottet’s cashless gaming card proposal, describing it as a “courageous and wise” decision.

See also: NSW government defends proposed poker machine and table game tax increase

Survey finds 63% in favour of cashless gaming cards for NSW

A Resolve Strategic survey for The Sydney Morning Herald has found the state’s voters to be in favour of the proposal. Some 63 per cent of respondents backed a cashless gaming card for poker machines and only 16 per cent were opposed to any change.

The survey also showed that only 28 per cent believes pubs and clubs are doing enough to deal with problem gambling, while 47 per cent described their efforts as poor. Some 32 per cent think the cashless card should be rolled out immediately, while 24 per cent support a voluntary trial and 19 per cent back mandatory testing in some areas.