The New South Wales government in Australia is looking to reduce the “insane” number of poker machines by 50% in the state in an effort to curb “preventable misery”.
The Labor government will vote overwhelmingly to support the measure, which will be introduced at the NSW Labor Annual State Conference in July.
Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne leads calls for reduction
At the time of writing, New South Wales has more poker machines per capita (87,000) than any jurisdiction in the world outside major casino centers such as Macau and Las Vegas. In Australia, Victoria has 30,000 machines, while Western Australian pubs and clubs have none.
The motion will require 45,000 poker machines to be removed from the state by the end of the decade. In Australia, “poker machines”, commonly called “pokies”, are electronic gambling machines similar to slot machines in the United States. Players insert money, press buttons or pull a lever, and win prizes based on random combinations of symbols.
Pokies are widespread in Australian pubs, clubs and casinos, especially in New South Wales, where they generate billions of dollars in gambling revenue each year. Unlike in many countries where slot machines are mostly limited to casinos, Australia allows them in thousands of neighborhood venues.
In a statement, Mr Bryne said: “The human cost inflicted by poker machines in NSW cannot be swept under the carpet any longer. In the past year losses from poker machines in NSW have grown from $8 billion to more than $9 billion, and the problem is getting worse.
“The vast majority of that money is coming out of the pockets of people in working class and lower income communities – the very people Labor exists to represent.”
Government-funded program to assist pubs and clubs to adjust entertainment avenues
Mr Bryne is also fronting efforts to rewire the entertainment for pubs throughout Australia. A recent landmark study estimated venue-based live music once drew 41 million patrons annually and contributed A$1.2 billion to the economy, supporting nearly 15,000 full-time jobs.
Parliamentary inquiries and industry groups say many suburban clubs and pubs increasingly shifted toward poker-machine revenue over recent decades because pokies became more profitable than hosting live bands.
Bryne’s proposal aims to establish government-funded support programs to assist the transition from relying on poker machines to live entertainment. It will encourage outdoor dining, rooftop bars and more entertainment venues, which gambling reform advocates argue is critical.
Mr Bryne added: “Everyone knows that the growth of poker machines has been at the detriment of live music. A planned transition away from this dependency will help revive the music scene in Sydney and across the state. NSW has more pokies in the community per capita than any other jurisdiction on earth.
“This obscene proliferation is the source of so much preventable misery. It should not be the role of a Labor government to judge and control the behaviour of punters, but our party must take responsibility for getting the obscene number of poker machines in the community drastically down.”
Australia in midst of stringent gambling reforms
Last month, Australia’s government unveiled long-awaited gambling advertising reforms after years of public pressure, tightening where and when betting promotions can appear but stopping short of a total ban. The package had followed calls from community groups and a parliamentary inquiry that recommended sweeping restrictions more than 1,000 days ago.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the measures strike a balance between allowing adults to gamble while shielding children from pervasive betting ads. Australians lose more money to gambling per capita than any other country, and several nations, including Italy and Belgium, have already imposed near-total advertising bans.
From January 1 2027, television betting ads will be capped at three per hour between 6 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., and banned during live sports broadcasts in those hours. Gambling ads also will be barred from radio during school pickup times, banned from sports venues and uniforms, and restricted online to logged-in users over 18 who can opt out.
The reforms also prohibit celebrities and athletes from appearing in gambling promotions, expand action against illegal offshore betting sites and ban additional forms of online gambling, including apps modeled on poker machines. Media companies, sports organizations and betting agencies have warned the restrictions could cut deeply into industry revenue.
Critics on both sides say the changes fall short or go too far. Responsible Wagering Australia called the reforms “draconian,” while anti-gambling advocates argued partial bans would not adequately protect children. Alliance for Gambling Reform advocate Tim Costello compared the measures to allowing “three cigarette ads per hour,” saying corporate profits were still being prioritized over public health.
