New South Wales (NSW), boasts around 95 000 licensed gaming machines, making it the perfect stage to introduce a cashless gaming trial. The program will launch in August and continue for 12 weeks, following an announcement from Liquor & Gaming NSW in 2021. The initiative is designed to combat money laundering and address gambling harm, with backing from global iGaming giant, Aristocrat Gaming, and in partnership with the Wests Newcastle club gaming venue where the cashless gaming machine trial will be held. IGT and Utopia Gaming are both also approved to conduct similar trials.
The program will see cashless payments implemented for all club services. Close to 300 patrons who are expected to use the 38 electronic gaming machines at the venue will be affected. The participating patrons are required to link their phones to the gaming machine with Bluetooth, allowing them to transfer funds directly from a digital wallet.
The prototype technology will enable patrons to establish spending and time limits, contact staff members for help, exclude themselves from the venue and pay for meals, memberships and gaming services. Users will only be able to only reload their cashless gaming cards once they have left the gaming room floor, and the service will require an approved Australian bank account to reload funds, no credit cards will be permitted.
Pivotal Data
The data produced by the NSW cashless gaming trial will aid the NSW Crime Commission Inquiry into money laundering in pubs and clubs, offering insight into the scope of money laundering and other criminal activities at gaming venues by or for criminal syndicates. The knowledge acquired will also establish the potential efficacy of cashless gaming in addressing money laundering and gambling harm.
At the time of the trial’s initial announcement in July, Independent NSW MP, Justin Field, commented on the issue, saying that pokies were habitually being used as “ATMs for money laundering” for organized crime.
“It is inexplicable why NSW poker machines can legally be loaded with up to $10,000 cash. These problems can be addressed very quickly with simple regulatory and legislative reform, like reducing the load limits and moving to cashless gaming,” he added.
