The debate over the cashless gambling proposals in New South Wales is continuing, following a campaign by state premier Dominic Perrottet to bring in play cards to help prevent money-laundering and aid the fight against compulsive gambling.
One of Perrottet’s own ministers has questioned the validity of the proposals. Transport minister David Elliott is quoted in Australian newspaper The Guardian about the plan.
Elliott said that his party colleagues were sceptical and also said that only using cashless gaming with poker machines would be ‘demonising one sort of gambling.’
Elliott is quoted: “We cannot say to Nanna ‘you can’t put $20 into a pokie machine after bowls’, because she’s just going to put that $20 on scratchies and lottery tickets in the newsagent on her way home.”
He said that any curbing of the rules on one form of gambling should equally apply to all of them.
Perrottet’s cashless proposal has been fiercely resisted by the gambling industry and notably the powerful clubs sector.