NSW Labor leader shies away from mandatory pilot of cashless gaming cards in pubs and clubs

NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns would support an expanded trial of cashless gaming cards in the state’s pubs and clubs but has stopped short of backing a mandatory pilot, saying he was concerned about an economic hit to the industry.

As Premier Dominic Perrottet prepares to meet industry stakeholders on Thursday to discuss his push for a compulsory gambling card, the opposition leader said he would offer bipartisan support if the government pursued a trial before the March election.

But Minns indicated the pilot would need to be an opt-in scheme, even though he conceded it meant money launderers or problem gamblers could seek out other venues. “That’s part of the complexity of the response,” Minns said.

“If you ... made it mandatory, then you’d need to make sure that the club or the pub that opted into that trial wasn’t materially affected. Otherwise, we wouldn’t get the recruits – the pubs and clubs – that we need to be part of the ultimate regime.”

The idea of an optional trial was criticised by high-profile anti-gambling advocate Tim Costello, who warned criminals and problem gamblers would choose not to partake. The NSW Crime Commission has also warned against an opt-in system, while an evaluation of Victoria’s YourPlay scheme, which allowed users to pre-commit their gambling limits, said its analysis was limited by the voluntary nature of the scheme and low usage rates.

Minns’ position on Wednesday strengthened Labor’s previously muted stance on gambling reform following the Crime Commission report, which last month recommended mandatory cashless gaming cards be introduced in pubs and clubs to combat money laundering.

However, Minns said his call for a trial did not amount to wholesale support for the cashless card scheme. “We’re not prepared to make that announcement today precisely because, if it’s a trial, you’d have to look at the economic impact on the clubs and pubs that opted in.”

That stance sets him apart from the premier, who repeated on Thursday a cashless card was “the destination we need to get to” and welcomed bipartisan backing for a pilot. “Where you can find common ground, you should,” Perrottet said.

But Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich – who has said his support for either party after the March election would depend on their commitment to gambling reform – said he feared Minns’ position was a “delaying tactic in the favour of ClubsNSW”.

“We’ve got to call that out, and he’s got to prove that it’s not a delaying tactic by setting a clear deadline for when we will have cashless cards universally across NSW,” Greenwich said.

“A trial is necessary as long as it is part of an implementation plan with a clear deadline to have a universal cashless gaming card. A trial which is used as a delaying tactic is just the same old politics in NSW.”

Minns insisted on having a strong “evidence base” before committing to any reform. “I have to think about the industry, I have to look at the implications of what major changes will be right across NSW,” he said.

“Considering that there’s 120,000 people employed in the clubs and pubs industry, I think it’s important to do your due diligence on what the impact would be of these proposed changes.”

After some MPs in Perrottet’s party room on Tuesday cautioned him against rushing in any changes, the premier reiterated that implementing a cashless card scheme would “take time”.

“I understand for many advocates, we want to be there yesterday, but we’ve got to do things properly and do things in the right way ... We want to work with industry to achieve change. And that’s what we’ll do.”

Nationals leader and deputy premier Paul Toole – who was initially sceptical of a cashless card - stressed he wanted to work with the industry “to get the right outcome” while accepting that a mandatory card would be the end result.

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