Dominic Perrottet says he’s dedicated to fixing issues in NSW’s troubled poker machine sector, however says the federal government continues to be working with trade to seek out the correct options.
“We need to fix the problem, and I am going to fix the problem,” he advised reporters on Thursday.
Billions of {dollars} in soiled money are being funnelled by way of pokies in NSW yearly, a damning report from the NSW Crime Commission discovered final month.
The premier mentioned his strategy had been constant for the reason that report was launched, and he was dedicated to getting the coverage setting proper.
“It’s not about the next election. It’s about doing what’s right,” he mentioned.
“So that in generations to come we are not in a situation where life savings are being thrown down poker machines and secondly, money laundering is occurring.
Constructive talks between the government and industry were ongoing, and policy is in the process of being worked through, Mr Perottett said.
The report’s leading recommendation was for the implementation of a cashless gaming card to tackle illegal money laundering by criminals.
The recommendation has previously been strongly opposed by Clubs NSW head Josh Landis, who said cashless gaming would not be effective at weeding out money laundering.
Opposition leader Chris Minns has also offered support of a trial of the cashless card, but said Labor would make a final decision after assessing how the card would affect pubs and clubs’ bottom line.
“We need to perceive the financial affect, exactly as a result of (the sector) employs so many individuals,” he advised reporters on Wednesday.
“If I used to be ranging from scratch, I would not distribute 80,000 pokie machines in NSW right now. But we now have to cope with the trade because it’s at the moment constituted.”
Meanwhile, the NSW Greens have launched their own election campaign which would see poker machines phased out of pubs and clubs entirely.
The Pull The Pin On The Pokies plan, launched this week, proposes eradicating pokies from pubs and golf equipment over the following 5 years, whereas serving to venues entry different income streams.
