National Self-Exclusion Register, BetStop, is Set to Launch August 21

July 31, 2023 | Gaming Machines

SYDNEY, NSW, Australia (July 29, 2023) — The pubs and clubs landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation, as hoteliers prioritise people over profits reports the Daily Telegraph.

The newspaper said poker machines — dubbed “culturally and socially unacceptable” — are slowly disappearing from New South Wales’ venues in favour of more family-friendly entertainment.

There were 4510 fewer machines and 199 fewer gaming venues operating across the state by the end of 2022, compared to the end of 2019, pre-pandemic.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief executive Carol Bennett said communities’ dislike for ‘pokie dens‘ was being acknowledged by venues that offer other forms of entertainment, such as live music or bowling.

“New and innovative business models are being embraced by many venues which find that they are receiving positive public support,” she said.

“Of course, state governments want to be seen to be reducing poker machine caps but their reliance on pokies revenue has resulted in a slow pace of change.”

About $4.2 billion was lost on machines in NSW hotels and clubs over the second half of 2022 alone – about $820 million more than the same period of 2019.

And these figures do not include casinos as they do not have to report in the same way – a fact the Alliance’s chief advocate Tim Costello called “extraordinary” given recent royal commissions investigating casinos and money laundering.

The NSW government recently introduced gambling reform policies including reduced cash feed-in limits for new poker machines; a ban on external signage that alludes to gambling; a lower cap on the number of poker machines in operation; and a small trial of cashless gaming.

Mr Costello also called for the introduction of a universal cashless card across all machines, designed to minimise losses through set dollar limits, and address money laundering through reduced anonymity.

He also said restricted operating hours, restricted advertising, and changes to “deceptive” gaming machine tactics were needed – specifically “losses disguised as wins” with celebratory lights and music, and the illusion of “near misses” in the way the symbols presented on the screen.

A national self-exclusion register, BetStop, is set to launch August 21, allowing people to ban themselves from betting and gambling across the country for at least three months and as long as a lifetime.