NSW unveils $95.2m gaming reform package: exclusion register, facial recognition, poker machine cuts

The New South Wales government has announced its NSW Gaming Reform package, describing it as delivery on a "key election commitment" to provide stronger protections against gambling harm and to apply tougher rules to gambling marketing. The announcement was made on Tuesday, according to the source material.

The government, led by Premier Chris Minns, said the reforms draw on recommendations from its Independent Panel for Gaming Reform, as well as discussions with stakeholders and the wider community. It committed AU$95.2 million (US$68.1 million) over four years to fund the measures.

What the package proposes

At the centre of the package is a statewide exclusion register, supported by mandatory facial recognition technology at the entrance of all gaming rooms. According to the report, the current voluntary self-exclusion arrangement is available only in certain hotels and clubs, and enforcement is largely left to venues and their staff.

A third-party exclusion scheme is also part of the package. It would allow friends and family to initiate exclusions for people at risk of excessive gambling, as well as venues and police. The material does not disclose how the scheme would operate in practice, what evidence would be required, or how the privacy of those on the register would be managed. The government said privacy experts were consulted in developing the reforms.

On poker machines, the package would reduce the current figure of 87,000 machines across 2,100 clubs and hotels. The government plans to do this by raising the forfeiture rate when gaming machine entitlements are traded, from one in three to one in two. A "sinking cap" would also lower the statewide cap as entitlements are removed from circulation. No target number or end date for the reduction was provided in the source.

The government is also pushing for account-based play in the future, which it said would give more visibility over who is playing. It acknowledged that much machine gaming infrastructure relies on legacy technology, and plans to upgrade the Central Monitoring System over the next two years to ease the transition.

"These are common sense reforms that have been developed alongside industry, harm minimisation groups, stakeholders and privacy experts to address gambling harm while supporting the industry and protecting the livelihoods of the many people it employs," said David Harris, the New South Wales minister for gaming and racing.

Advertising and online enforcement

The package also targets marketing. Gaming-related VIP programmes would be banned, as would all gambling advertising on New South Wales government and council-owned assets. Betting service providers would be allowed to market directly through phone calls, emails or text messages only after receiving express consent.

New transparency requirements would apply to gambling promotions by affiliates and influencers, with restrictions on commissions for higher-risk gambling products. The source does not specify which products are classed as higher risk.

The government has additionally committed to developing a strategy to reduce harms from online gambling. It also plans to strengthen enforcement against companies operating illegally, including new offences and tougher penalties. The details of those offences and penalties have not been disclosed. Online casino services are prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and the federal regulator, ACMA, is responsible for much of that enforcement, so it is unclear how any state-level measures would interact with the federal framework.

The evidence cited

The government pointed to the NSW Gambling Survey 2024, which found that 3.1% of the state's adult population experienced moderate-risk gambling and 0.9% experienced high-risk gambling.

Minister Harris framed the package as a broad, evidence-based overhaul combining tighter regulation, new technology and stronger safeguards. He said the government would "continually explore and implement emerging technology" to keep safety measures up to date.

These are government claims about the aims and design of the package. The timeline for the legislation needed to put the reforms in place has not been made clear, so it remains uncertain when, or in what form, the measures would take effect.