Philip Crawford, chairman of the major gambling regulatory body in the state of New South Wales (NSW), has recently called for a thorough investigation of some suspected money laundering activities that have allegedly been taking place inside local non-gaming venues. Reportedly, slot machines would facilitate the money laundering activities in question.
For some time, NSW is being considered a destination with a flourishing poker machine market. Currently, the state hosts a total of 95,000 pokies, with the majority of them being situated in hotels, pubs, clubs and other non-gaming venues across New South Wales. According to reports, poker machines generate million-dollar tax revenues for the state, while also offering more than 100,000 permanent jobs.
However, the non-gaming venues hosting the popular and much-criticised pokies are being targeted by the initiative of the NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA) after suspicions emerged that criminal organisations have been using the machines to launder some dirty money.
Last month, Mr Crawford addressed State Premier Dominic Perrottet in a letter and shared his belief that gaming activities in NSW pubs and clubs should be under the same kind of investigation that the activity of Crown Resorts had become subject to in 2020.
The chairman of the state’s gambling regulator also shared he was not happy with the fact that, under the existing law, he has the right to hold local casinos responsible for their illegal actions but he is unable to do the same with non-gaming venues. Mr Crawford also argued that the Government of New South Wales should be provided with more powers and the opportunity to initiate supervision of the local non-gaming sector.
Current Legislative Gap Allows Criminal Gangs to Use Pokies for Illegal Money Laundering
The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority’s chair has noted there is a legislative gap in the state’s rules of gambling regulation at large casinos that host several thousands of pokies versus non-gaming venues that operate more than 90,000 poker machines across the state of NSW. It is the legislative flaw that is suspected to be providing criminal organisations with the chance to use the machines for illegal money laundering activities.
New South Wales’ chief gaming investigator, David Byrne, who is also a strong supporter of cashless gambling options, shared that no less than AU$1 billion is being laundered through pokies in the country every year.
At the time, Mr Byrne shared images acquired from a Sydney pub’s surveillance camera that portrayed a member of a criminal organisation putting more than AU$25,000 into a poker machine, placing a bet of a little over AU$1, and then using the cashout option to get his alleged winnings. Allegedly, the person shown on the camera footage belongs to a major criminal gang that specialises in money laundering via poker machines.
The state’s chief gaming investigator once again pointed out the benefits of the implementation of cashless betting, a measure he has strongly supported over the last few years. As Mr Byrne noted, if cashless wagering is adopted, that would prevent customers from walking in both gambling and non-gambling venues with a lot of money and putting all of it into a single poker machine. Also, customers would be required to officially register in order to obtain a gambling card issued by the Government of the NSW and would have to preload that card with money. These cards would also be connected to the exclusion register of the state in order to ensure a more effective suspension of the thousands of players who decided to ban themselves from gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
