The New South Wales (NSW) government has walked back on its pre-election commitment to remove 9,500 poker machines from venues across the state, despite previously championing the initiative as a key policy difference from the opposition.
Before the state election, Labor leaders, including now-Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, had vowed to significantly reduce the number of poker machines in NSW by stating that he wanted “to see fewer poker machines in NSW, faster,” adding that the party’s plan aimed to phase out 9,500 machines within five years through a combination of a buyback program and a forfeiture scheme.
However, during a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, the state’s gaming minister, David Harris, confirmed that this plan is no longer government policy.
Instead, Harris argued that upon further evaluation, the number of machines was not the core issue but rather the intensity of play that was the root of the problem.
He contended that the proposed $60 million allocated for the buyback scheme would be better spent on harm minimization strategies.
Harris said that you make “commitments before an election” and while lowering the number of machines “sounds very attractive,” “[unfortunately] the evidence shows us that it would make no material difference.”
The government’s revised stance follows advice from an independent gambling policy panel comprising representatives from industry groups such as Clubs NSW, the Australian Hotels Association (AHA), and Gaming Technologies Australia, alongside social services groups, academics, and individuals with lived experience.
Their report concluded that a buyback scheme would be costly and unlikely to significantly impact poker machine numbers. It instead recommended that if the government were to implement a buyback, it should be voluntary and open to clubs and hotels.
Shadow Minister for Gaming Kevin Anderson criticized the shift, stating, “We’ve got Daniel Mookhey on one hand making this evidence-based commitment in the lead-up to the election, and now the minister for gaming saying the evidence doesn’t stack up. It is not clear who to believe, but what is abundantly clear is Labor has done nothing to address problem gambling in this state.”
While the government has abandoned its poker machine reduction target, it has introduced other gambling-related reforms.
These include a ban on gambling advertising outside venues and a recently announced plan to prohibit gambling advertisements on public transport.
The move to scrap the buyback scheme has reignited debate over the effectiveness of poker machine regulation and the role of gambling in NSW communities.
As the government shifts its focus to harm minimization rather than machine reduction, questions remain about how far these measures will go in addressing problem gambling across the state.
