New South Wales is preparing a broad gambling shake-up that would tighten self-exclusion rules, cut poker machine numbers and put tougher limits on how operators market to players.
Facial Recognition Joins Statewide Self-Exclusion Push
The NSW government has unveiled a new Gaming Reform package aimed at reducing gambling harm across hotels, clubs and online betting.
One of the biggest changes is a statewide self-exclusion register covering every NSW hotel and club with gaming machines. The system will replace the current patchwork of venue-level arrangements, where excluded players can still slip through the cracks when moving between locations.
Mandatory facial recognition technology will be installed at gaming room entrances to help venues identify registered players. The government says the exclusion register and facial recognition system are due to launch together in 2028.
Family members, venues and police would also gain more options to initiate exclusions for people considered at risk from excessive gambling.
The government has committed AU$95.2 million over four years to the wider reform program, including another AU$20 million for the Responsible Gambling Fund over the next two years.
Poker Machine Numbers Set to Keep Falling
NSW currently has about 87,000 poker machines spread across roughly 2,100 hotels and clubs, but the government wants that figure heading in one direction: down.
When gaming machine entitlements are traded, the forfeiture rate will increase from one machine for every three entitlements to one for every two. A new “sinking cap” will also lower the statewide ceiling as machine entitlements are permanently removed.
Account-based gaming is also on the longer-term agenda. NSW plans to upgrade its Centralised Monitoring System over the next two years, laying the groundwork for technology that could link poker machine play to registered accounts.
Players would still be able to use cash under the model described by the government, while venues could gain better tools for identifying gambling patterns and meeting anti-money laundering requirements.
VIP Perks and Unwanted Marketing Face the Chop
Operators will have less freedom to chase gamblers with offers and promotions if the package becomes law.
Gaming-related VIP programs would be banned, while gambling advertising would disappear from NSW government and council-owned property. Betting companies would also need a customer’s express permission before contacting them through calls, emails or text messages.
Affiliates and social media influencers are in the government’s sights too. New transparency rules are planned for gambling promotions, alongside restrictions on commissions attached to products considered higher risk.
For the average bettor, that could mean fewer unsolicited promos landing on a phone and less aggressive pressure to keep depositing simply because an operator has decided someone looks like a valuable customer.
Online Gambling Is Next on the List
The reform package is heavily focused on poker machines and land-based venues, but online gambling has not escaped attention.
NSW plans to create a dedicated approach for reducing online gambling harm while giving regulators stronger powers to pursue illegal operators. New offences, tougher penalties and stronger enforcement tools are part of the proposal.
Gaming and Racing Minister David Harris said the reforms were developed with input from the gambling industry, harm-minimisation organisations, privacy experts and other stakeholders.
For now, one rather important detail remains unresolved: the government has not laid out a full timetable for legislation covering the package. Facial recognition has a 2028 target, but several other measures still need to make the journey from policy announcement to rules that players and operators actually have to follow.
