More than $2.2 billion was lost to pokies in NSW (New south wales) pubs and clubs in the first four months of the year, prompting gambling reform advocates to call for an acceleration of cashless gambling trials.
Almost $600 million was collected by poker machines in April alone, up 12.58 per cent on April 2019, ahead of the first “digital wallet” program to be trialled at a venue in August.
Led by Aristocrat Gaming and Wests Newcastle, the 12-week trial will trigger cashless payments for electronic gaming machines, with built-in features like time and spending limits.
It is the first proposal received by the NSW government as it explores cashless gaming solutions to target problem gambling and money laundering in venues.
The latest figures from Liquor and Gaming NSW reveal poker machines in Canterbury-Bankstown took in almost $48 million in profits in April, or more than $1.5 million a day. In Fairfield, pokies collected more than $47 million.
Cumberland, Sydney and Blacktown councils were close behind, where profits in each area ranged from $96 million to $116 million for the month.
Kate da Costa, the NSW spokeswoman for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said the figures reflected a “predictable rebound” in pokies use, one year after the pandemic began and one month after JobKeeper ended. Experts says that digital payment system that has harm-minimisation measures, like enforced breaks in play and spending limits puts friction into the system, which is shown to be effective
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