IAG MAR 2023

IAG MAR 2023年3月 亞博匯 26 with the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority to transition to fully cashless, albeit with no definitive timeline put in place. The issue has become far more pressing in recent months, however, following the release of a NSW Crime Commission report which found that billions of dollars of dirty money is being funneled through the state’s pubs and clubs each year. With NSW home to around 90,000 poker machines – Nevada is the only single jurisdiction globally with more – and pubs and clubs housing the vast majority of those, the report concluded that allowing cash to continue to be used in EGMs makes it too easy for criminals to gamble with illegally gained money. In response, it called for the introduction of a mandatory cashless gaming systemas a key recommendation to minimize EGM-related money laundering within pubs and clubs. “It is a deeply concerning peculiarity that, in the largely cashless digital economy in which we live, gambling in NSW pubs and clubs remains an AU$95 billion (US$65 billion) a year information black hole. Clearly, that cannot be allowed to continue,” said NSW Crime Commissioner Michael Barnes. The government has been quick to respond. In November, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced mandatory cashless gaming as a key policy issue ahead of the upcoming state election this March. In early February, the Perrottet government released COVER STORY