A cashless pokies trial conducted in New South Wales

New South Wales is testing cashless pokies as part of the Australian government’s war on money laundering. Cashless pokies were first proposed a year ago, but never implemented. Wests Newcastle will begin a 12-week trial in August, which will change that.

Next month, 38 Aristocrat Leisure machines at Wests Newcastle will look significantly different. Using cash in the poker machines is no longer possible. A Bluetooth connection connects the player’s opt-in digital wallet to the device, which is then linked to their Australian bank account and identity.

Wallet funds are transferred from the player’s account to the machine before playing. A total of 300 patrons are estimated to be affected by the trial at Wests Newcastle.

More venues will be able to offer cashless pokies after a successful trial. Cashless pokies are viewed as a key tool in preventing money laundering, identifying problem gamblers, and limiting player spending by gambling lobbies.

Aristocrat Leisure is supporting the trial, according to Hospitality and Racing Minister Kevin Anderson. The approval of both IGT and Utopia Gaming was granted, but Aristocrat is preferred.

A common goal of the trials is to address harm minimisation and anti-money laundering through a variety of technologies and solutions.

Money laundering will be prevented by cashless pokies?

Pokies and criminal activity were highlighted earlier this month in a paper published by the NSW Crime Commission. Machines are frequently used by criminals to wash their dirty money in Australian pubs, clubs, and casinos.

According to the paper, Australian poker machines are popular with criminals because of how easy they are to launder money. A $5,000 cash load is inserted into the machine, a $5 bet is placed, and the rest of the $4,995 is cashed out.

With what appears to be legitimate funds, the cashier processes the $4,995 balance. At the same venue or across several properties, the criminal or a team of criminals repeats the process.

There is no indication of the amount wagered or the time taken on the ticket. It only displays the amount owed to the “winner.” Casinos may investigate large cash outs made by customers in a short period of time in the future.

Money laundering through Australian machines was reported in the Sydney Morning Herald in November 2021. It showed a man placing a $1 bet and withdrawing the balance after feeding $27,000 into a machine in only one hour.

Criminals allegedly launder $1 billion a year through gaming, according to NSW Gaming and Liquor Department chief investigator David Byrne.

These types of money laundering are not only prevented but eradicated with cashless pokies. In order to avoid being caught by the law, criminals need anonymity.

It takes away the air of secrecy by connecting their identification and bank accounts.

Combating criminal activities begins with a plan

Taking action against criminal activity begins with cashless pokies. There needs to be a cap on the amount of players can feed into a machine, according to Independent NSW MP Justin Field.

“I don’t understand why players can load up to $10,000 cash into poker machines in NSW. It would be very simple to solve these problems by simply reforming regulations and laws, like reducing the load limits and making pokies cashless.”

There is a $10,000 cash limit on pokies in New South Wales. For Victoria and the Northern Territory, it is $1,000, while for Queensland and South Australia, it is only $100.

Cashless pokies are welcomed by campaigners, but it is small in comparison with broader issues. There are 95,000 machines in New South Wales, most of which are outside casinos. The trial involved 38 machines at Wests Newcastle. The oversight of these machines outside casinos is not as rigorous as that of the machines in casinos.

Despite having a population of 0.3%, Australia is home to 20% of the world’s pokie machines.