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The rest of the world is in disbelief at what the gambling industry has pulled off in Australia. We need real reform - The Guardian - Tim Costello - 17 Jan 2023 For decades it seems Australian politics, especially in NSW, has been dominated by three major entities – the two major political parties and the gambling industry. The state has about half of the nation’s slot machines – pokies – in its clubs and pubs. With such ubiquitous accessibility it is no wonder Australia has the greatest gambling losses in the world – 40% greater than the nation that comes second. This unelected industry has wielded obscene power on Macquarie Street, Sydney’s home of the NSW parliament, acting like a shadow cabinet of its own. And with a $95bn turnover each year in NSW, it enjoys huge sway. This is evidenced by Chris Minns’s announcement of Labor’s gambling policy ahead of the NSW election. On the surface some of Labor’s policies seem to have merit, but dig deeper and you realise they lack real substance. That’s because they don’t commit to the reform that matters most and which Dominic Perrottet has already proposed: the introduction of a universal cashless gambling card that requires pre-commitment to a spending limit. A maximum bet on a poker machine in NSW is currently $10, meaning someone can lose up to $200 every minute. This is not allowed in any other state. And only NSW has multiple terminal gaming machines with $100 maximum bets which are casino games in pubs.
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