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From:
Philip Johnston [mailto:scribepj@bigpond.com] Attention: Dr. Kate da Costa I am mindful that you aren’t due back from holidays ‘til Wed. 8 Oct. 1st Attachment is my email that I sent (15 Sept) to NSW Parliament for on-forwarding to Alex Greenwich, Independent Member for Sydney. It attached a PDF of my letter to Alex Greenwich titled ‘Two questions to the Independent Member for Sydney in the NSW Legislative Assembly to assist bring the number of poker machines in NSW in align with Australia’s other five states’. 2nd Attachment is my Letter to the NSW Auditor General dated 17 Sept ’25 (PDF) asking 4 Questions re compliance with winning return minimums by NSW clubs and hotels for their poker machines. 3rd Attachment is a response email (29 Sept) from the Auditor General’s Office informing that NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority is responsible for NSW clubs and hotels compliance with “technical standards” for performance of the 87,500 approx EGMs in NSW. Below is an extract from that response from Vanessa Gill, Executive Officer - Corporate, Experience and Strategy, NSW Auditor General: “The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) is the NSW Government agency that is responsible for ensuring compliance with technical standards for electronic gaming machines, including the minimum ‘return to player’ ratio.” 4th Attachment is my email to media@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au; office@ilga.nsw.gov.au; wyong@parliament.nsw.gov.au; contact.us@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au that attached my Letter to NSW Minister David Harris responsible for Liquor and Gaming dated 1 Oct ’25 which –
Below is an extract from my email that refers to NSW hotels initially being allowed to provide poker machines was under Bob Carr’s stewardship as NSW Premier of a State Labor Govt. “Below is a brief extract of an email to me (sent 18/11/2024 2:07 pm) from Nerilee Hing, PhD, Research Professor (Gambling Studies) CQUniversity that evidences that poker machines were initially allowed in some NSW hotels during Bob Carr’s former tenure as a NSW Labor Premier. Poker machines were not allowed in NSW hotels until 1997/98.” 5th Attachment is my PDF letter dated 1 Oct 25 to the NSW Minister David Harris for Liquor and Gaming that was attached to my above email (4th Attachment) addressed to media@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au; office@ilga.nsw.gov.au; wyong@parliament.nsw.gov.au; contact.us@liquorandgaming.nsw.gov.au. Final two email Attachments are auto email receipt acknowledgements of my above email to David Harris emailed yesterday (5th Attachment) from –
SUMMARY Hopefully Alex Greenwich will seek answers to: a) How often is each larger NSW club and larger NSW hotel audited by ILGA for compliance with the 85% RTP? Are these NSW clubs and hotels afforded any prior warning of an audit of the Return To Player Ratio for all the EGMs in their club or hotel? b) Have there been any instances where a licensed club or hotel lowered the RTP ratio below 85% shortly after being audited? Prima facie, such deceit should warrant that club or hotel losing its Gaming Machine Entitlements (GME) or poker machine permits (PMP). Thereby send a potent message to other clubs and hotels not to similarly transgress. Regulations on gaming machines in NSW Dutifully the NSW Minister David Harris for Liquor and Gaming should provide answers to: 1) How many of the 87,500 approx. gaming machines in NSW have been examined by ILGA for compliance with the minimum 85% ‘return to player’ ratio in the last two or so years? 2) Have there been any instances where a licensed club or hotel lowered the RTP ratio below 85% shortly after being audited by ILGA? Prima facie, that deceit should warrant that club or hotel losing its Gaming Machine Entitlements (GME) or poker machine permits (PMP), thereby sending a potent message to other clubs and hotels not to similarly transgress. 3) Does ILGA provide any warning to pertinent NSW clubs and hotels when it will attend a club or hotel to audit compliance with the minimum 85% ‘return to player’ ratio on their EGMs? Above in this email notes that “Poker machines were not allowed in NSW hotels until 1997/98.” NSW Govt report ‘Hotels: Gaming Machine Annual Report by Local Government Area (LGA) lists 22,554 EGMs were in NSW hotels at 30 June 2024. A smidgeon over one quarter of NSW EGMs were in hotels at 30 June 2024 and a speck under three quarters of EGMs were in NSW licensed clubs. Prior to Bob Carr’s being NSW State Premier, no EGMs were in NSW hotels. My final Attachment (Excel) lists the number of EGMs in each Australian State and Territory annually from 1 July 2001 to end June 2021. I believe that access to data on the substantial growth in poker machine new licences in both NSW hotels and licensed clubs during the 1990s would place greater pressure on Premier Minns for ILGA to diligently audit NSW clubs and hotels to learn if each has sufficient Gaming Machine Threshold (GMT) and holds a GME or a PMP for each gaming machine installed therein. And of course also audit each of the 87,500 circa EGMs for compliance with the 85% Return To Player Ratio. I do not believe that the NSW Govt can take existing poker machine licences off NSW clubs and hotels, unless there has been non-compliance by some of those clubs/hotels legal obligations.
Phil Johnston
aka Bank
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