The New South Wales state government is considering banning political donations from any pubs and clubs with poker machines in a move designed to reduce the influence of the gambling industry.
The latest policy move from NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet comes ahead of the upcoming March election where gambling policy has become a major issue. Perrottet is already pushing for the introduction of mandatory cashless gaming and spending limits to combat gambling harm and money laundering following a recent report from the NSW Crime Commission which found that billions of dollars in dirty money is being funneled through the state’s pubs and clubs each year.
As per a report by The Sydney Morning Herald, gambling companies are not permitted to donate to political parties but the same rules do not apply to the pubs and clubs which host the vast majority of the state’s nearly 87,000 poker machines.
Between January 2011 and June 2021, clubs across NSW donated a combined AU$632,000 (US$437,000) to the state’s three major political parties.
For its part, the opposition Labor Party has promised to slash the number of poker machines in operation across the state but has balked at mandatory cashless gaming – preferring to run a 12-month trial at around 500 selected locations before making any such commitment.
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