The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, and 60 Minutes have released a joint report that claims that over $1bn of illicit cash is being laundered using poker machines across the country. This is corroborated by evidence released by state and federal authorities.
CCTV footage from the exhaustive investigation uncovers the criminal activity, showing a Sydney pokies venue being used to ‘clean’ tens of thousands of illegally-generated dollars.
The scheme appears to have two different components, involving several participants. A dedicated group will look for a near-guaranteed jackpot on linked poker machines, while another individual feeds banknotes into two machines simultaneously.
David Byrne, the Chief NSW gaming investigator stated that he estimates that the total amount being laundered across all Australian states with pokies at over $1bn.
Byrne’s investigative team at the NSW Gaming and Liquor department recorded 140 pubs and clubs, and more than 130 individual gamblers as being involved in money laundering activities.
Byrne shared more of his grim findings, saying,
“That’s only in the Sydney metro area, that’s not the entire NSW landscape. You’re talking about, at the worst level, child exploitation, human trafficking, firearms trafficking, terrorism funding. All of those can be packaged up in the same conversation as money laundering.”
“I don’t think that clubs, where good, family-orientated people across NSW go to have dinner, want patrons to be walking past organised criminals laundering cash. I think, based on what we’re finding, they [pokies venues] need a wake-up call, definitely,” he added.
According to the report, NSW’s 95 000 poker machines generate $1bn in state taxes annually, with the state Government projected to generate AU$2.8bn from gambling taxes this financial year.
