Liquor & Gaming NSW has reviewed 51 venues since April under the state's revised gaming machine shutdown rules, and says 70 more audits are planned in the coming months. The regulator announced the results in an item on its website, which was reported by the trade publication Gambling Industry News.
The poker machines at issue are licensed, land-based gaming machines in pubs and clubs. They are separate from online casino services, which are prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001.
What the audits found
According to the regulator, most of the venues reviewed have complied with the shutdown requirements. Thirty-two venues received education and compliance support. Liquor & Gaming NSW described those cases as involving issues that were isolated, minor, or caused by exceptional circumstances beyond the venue's control.
Some outcomes were more serious. The Crown Hotel in Camden and East Cessnock Bowling Club were both fined for non-compliance. One venue, which the regulator did not name, received an official caution. Another, also unnamed, was referred for formal disciplinary action.
The regulator did not disclose the amount of the fines. The source material also does not say how the remaining venues among the 51 were categorised, nor what specific breaches led to the penalties.
The rule change behind the campaign
The compliance campaign covers Sydney, the Hunter region and the North Coast. It follows an April revision of the shutdown requirements. That revision removed exemptions that had allowed more than 650 pubs and clubs across New South Wales to keep gaming machines running during the mandatory daily closure between 4 am and 10 am.
The reviews continue to focus on whether gaming rooms close during the required six-hour window. The source material does not explain how the audits are carried out or how venues are selected, beyond the regulator's description of its approach.
Dimitri Argeres, executive director of regulatory operations at Liquor & Gaming NSW, said the agency is taking an intelligence-led approach to enforcement. He has previously described the six-hour shutdown period as an important harm minimisation safeguard.
What comes next
The next round of audits will cover a wider pool of venues. Any penalties that follow would be imposed under rules that leave no exemptions for any venue in the state. The 70 planned reviews are described only as taking place "in the coming months", and no schedule or list of venues has been published in the material available.
Several questions remain unanswered in the regulator's announcement as reported. The size of the fines is not known. Neither is the nature of the conduct that led to the caution and the disciplinary referral, or the identity of those two venues. It is also unclear whether further outcomes from the first 51 reviews are still pending.
For now, the results are the regulator's own account of its enforcement. Independent verification of the figures was not part of the source material. Readers who want the detail should consult the Liquor & Gaming NSW website directly.
Players who are concerned about their own gambling can contact Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858 for free, confidential support.