A new regulation limiting the amount of cash NSW casinos can accept from each player per day to just AU$1,000 will be postponed for one year due to challenges the state’s operators continue to face in implementing mandatory cashless gaming technology.
According to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Star Sydney and Crown Sydney will be allowed to accept up to AU$5,000 per player per day until August 2025. The AU$1,000 cap had been due to come into effect from Monday 19 August.
Mandatory carded play at The Star will also be postponed for a month until 19 October following a request from the company’s recently appointed CEO Steve McCann, The SMH report claims.
“In recognition of the practical difficulties encountered by both casino operators in implementing technology changes for cashless gaming and carded play, the NSW government has agreed to transitional arrangements so that both can address any issues and meet the requirements as swiftly as possible,” a spokesperson for Gaming Minister David Harris is quoted as saying.
The implementation of cash limits and mandatory carded play formed part of recommendations emanating from inquiries into both casino operators in recent years, which found both Crown and Star unsuitable to hold casino licenses in NSW due to multiple breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counterterrorism Financing Act.
Crown has since been found suitable to resume operating its Sydney and Melbourne casinos, although Star’s future remains in limbo with the final report from a second inquiry into its operations recently handed to the NSW Independent Casino Commission.
As revealed by Inside Asian Gaming, Star Entertainment Group last month shut down all electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and electronic table games (ETGs) at all three of its Australian casinos in Sydney, Brisbane and the Gold Coast due to what it described as “system performance issues” related to the introduction of cashless gaming technology. The machines were gradually brought back online over the course of three or four days.
Crown Sydney does not have any EGMs under its casino agreement.
According to The SMH, Star will implement mandatory carded play from Monday in its VIP gaming areas and on its gaming tables, but all machines will still be able to accept cash until 19 October.
“Our allowance of a transitional period will enable any technical difficulties and live risks to be addressed,” the Minister’s spokesperson said.
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