Tuesday 25 August 2026
Poker machine gamblers will have clearer information on their spend and the 4am-10am pokie shutdown will be reviewed, under a suite of reforms pushed by unions and gambling reform advocates.
“These reforms represent real and solid progress to reduce harm to problem gamblers,” said Mark Morey, Unions NSW Secretary. “Poker machines disproportionately harm working people and their communities, so we commend the Premier and Minister Harris for taking real action.”
The reforms were sought by Labor for Gambling Reform, a group of rank and file ALP members and trade unionists at the recent State Labor conference. The measures include:
- A review of the length of the mandatory 4am to 10am shutdown
- A ban on unsolicited direct marketing from online wagering companies, including cold calling, emails and text messages
- A ban on commission payments to staff, affiliates and influencers based on a customer’s wagering activity or losses
- An end to VIP programs linked to gaming, which are associated with more frequent gambling, longer sessions and higher spending
- The gambling advertising ban extended from public transport to all NSW Government and council owned assets, with offence provisions covering influencers who promote poker machine use
- Monthly statements for players registered for account based play, giving gamblers a clear picture of what they are actually spending
- A statewide exclusion register, so a person experiencing gambling harm only needs to self-exclude once for it to apply at every venue in NSW. It is expected to be running in 2028
- A third party exclusion scheme allowing family, friends and venues to seek an exclusion where there is significant risk of harm, and allowing police to act where there are money laundering risks
- Mandatory facial recognition technology in gaming rooms, which detects excluded patrons as they walk in
- Fewer machines, with the forfeiture rate lifted from one in three to one in two so one entitlement is surrendered for every two traded, a sinking cap on entitlements across the state, and the removal of exemptions that allowed new and amalgamated clubs to avoid forfeiture
- An extra $20 million for the Responsible Gambling Fund over two years.
The shutdown review follows the Government’s decision earlier this year to revoke more than 650 venue exemptions, which had allowed about one in five gaming venues to run machines outside the mandated hours.
“The overnight shutdown demands real scrutiny,” said Mr Morey. “The Government’s own research found more than 70 per cent of people playing between 4am and 10am are moderate or high risk gamblers. Nobody is winning money at 3am. We want the review to look at when the shutdown starts, not just how long it runs.
NSW has almost half the national total of poker machines, which are concentrated in the state’s lowest income communities.
“Fewer machines and better information are things the movement has argued for over many years. Our members work in these venues and live in the suburbs where the losses are highest. They know what a poker machine does to a household budget. The proposed reduction in the number of machines is welcomed but there is more to do in this area of gambling reform going forward..”
Media contact: Nick Lucchinelli 0422 229 032