Gamblers need cash

The NSW government proposes to upend the clubs and pubs sector by demanding a complete overhaul of poker machine gaming and the introduction of cashless gaming machines. 

However, more than 80 per cent of NSW poker machine venues have existing cashless offerings today through Ticket In / Ticket Out (TITO) and card-based cashless gaming systems.

By adding the need for identification of the customer to a TITO or card based cashless platform, this system could easily be leveraged to deliver the government's required outcomes.

Live data notifications can be sent to venue management and to produce real-time Austrac reporting, cross referenced with in-venue cameras and facial recognition.

TITO works by issuing the gambler a barcoded ticket which is redeemed for cash.

"The government can introduce limits and stamp out money laundering easily and cheaply by adding ID requirements for TITO systems," said Tim Wildash, Executive Chairman of Next Payments, one of the largest ATM networks in NSW clubs and pubs.

"But banning cash completely takes gambler's greatest budgeting tool away and leaves them to open to being captured by the growing online gambling industry."

Physical notes and coins are the most powerful harm minimisation tool available to gamblers. Australia’s leading anti-gambling researchers, Dr Sally Gainsbury and Professor Alex Blaszczynski from the University of Sydney state very clearly that cash has big advantages for gamblers.
 
“The preference for the use of cash in gambling is often predicated on physical cash being a tangible way of limiting expenditure and the capacity for cash to impose breaks in play as a self-reappraisal harm-minimisation strategy.”
 
In their 2020 research paper on digital gaming Gainsbury and Blaszczynski note that:
 
“… consumers tend to spend more and are less aware of their expenditure when transacting electronically compared to when using cash.”

"The government's proposed reforms will not protect problem gamblers and threatens to drive them online," said Tim Wildash.

Sandra Smith, Executive Director of the Automatic Teller Machine Industry Association (ATMIA) said government needs to find a solution that does not unfairly discriminate against regular consumers.

"Any solution to the issue of problem gambling must be guided by minimizing harm - the proposed cashless gaming card is a blunt solution to a complex problem," said Ms Smith.

Sandra Smith 0424 300 660 sandra.smith@ATMIA.com

Tim Wildash 0418 336 599 twildash@nextpayments.com.au