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The New South Wales government has announced new gaming reforms requiring pubs and clubs to introduce facial recognition technology at gaming-room entrances. The changes will also ban VIP programs linked to gaming and establish a single statewide exclusion register for people who choose to stop using gaming areas.
The measures are aimed at strengthening harm minimization safeguards. The NSW Gambling Survey 2024 found that 3.1% of the state’s adult population experienced moderate-risk gambling, while 0.9% experienced high-risk gambling.
Statewide Exclusion Register Planned
The NSW Statewide Exclusion Register is expected to replace the current fragmented system. At present, people can voluntarily exclude themselves from gaming areas at selected hotels and clubs or from an entire venue, while individual venues and staff are largely responsible for monitoring compliance.
The new register will cover every hotel and club with gaming machines. Mandatory facial recognition technology will be introduced alongside the statewide register in 2028, allowing an exclusion to apply across venues rather than only at locations selected by an individual.
The government said the system would provide a single framework for people who make the decision to exclude themselves from gaming areas.
Cashless Gaming System Updated
The government will upgrade the Centralised Monitoring System over the next 2 years. The work is intended to support a transition to account-based play, which has been slowed by the use of legacy technology.
The government said advances since the Cashless Gaming Trial had demonstrated that account-based play solutions could provide anti-money-laundering and harm-minimisation benefits while allowing players to continue using cash if they preferred.
Marketing Restrictions Expanded
VIP programs linked to gaming will be banned under the reforms. Gambling advertising on NSW Government and council-owned assets will also be prohibited.
Betting service providers will not be allowed to contact potential customers through calls, email, or text messages without receiving express consent in advance. New transparency requirements will apply to promotions by affiliates and social media influencers, together with restrictions on commissions linked to higher-risk gambling products.
Gaming Machine Numbers To Fall
The reforms will further reduce the 87,000 gaming machines operating across 2,100 clubs and hotels. The forfeiture rate for gaming machine entitlements traded between venues will increase from 1 in 3 to 1 in 2.
Under the new rate, 1 entitlement will be permanently removed for every 2 traded. A new sinking cap will accelerate the reduction so that the statewide machine limit falls as entitlements leave circulation.
Funding And Industry Response
A total of AU$95.2 million will be invested over 4 years to fund the reforms. The money will come from the remaining balance of the state’s AU$100 million gambling harm-minimisation fund and higher licence fees for clubs and hotels with gaming machines.
Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris said the reforms had been developed with industry, harm-minimisation groups, stakeholders, and privacy experts. He said the package combined technology, stronger exclusion tools, regulation, and funding for harm reduction while supporting the industry and its workers.
The government said it would continue exploring emerging technology to maintain updated safety measures across the NSW gambling industry. The facial recognition system, exclusion register, marketing rules, machine reductions, and monitoring upgrades will be introduced under the reform programme, with the statewide register and facial recognition measures scheduled for 2028.
Source: Inside Asian Gaming
