Integration with NSW's poker machine central monitoring system should be considered if the ACT government chooses to link up poker machines in the territory, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
Labor and the Greens remain split on the adoption of a central monitoring system, which Gaming Minister and Greens leader Shane Rattenbury has argued is needed to roll out further harm minimisation measures.
Labor wants to introduce harm minimisation measures - including bet limits and cashless gaming - sooner without the expensive monitoring system, which the party believes would lock a higher number of poker machines in for longer and do little to stop gamblers going over the border into NSW to keep playing.
Now the tripartisan budget estimates committee has recommended the ACT government work to integrate with NSW's central monitoring system if the territory resolves to introduce a system for electronic gaming machines in Canberra.
Mr Rattenbury had told the committee he had written to the incoming NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing, David Harris, after NSW Labor won the state election in May 2023 to seek cooperation to work together on poker machine issues, including cashless gaming.
"ACT government officials are exploring opportunities through the ACT-NSW memorandum of understanding to establish arrangements for this to occur," Mr Rattenbury said in answer to a question taken on notice.
"However, as the ACT government has not made a decision to proceed with the proposed [central monitoring system] for ACT [electronic gaming machines], it would be premature to formally pursue this issue beyond these preliminary considerations.
"More broadly, ACT government officials regularly monitor and keep up to date with relevant developments in other jurisdictions, including New South Wales and speak to officials in all jurisdictions as necessary (including through the interjurisdictional card based gaming and pre-commitment working group) to help ensure that, where possible and appropriate, policy objectives align across borders."
Mr Rattenbury told the budget estimates enquiry he believed his paper on a central monitoring system had been given a "go slow treatment" in cabinet and Labor's policy was "sabotaging" one that would deliver better harm minimisation.
Meanwhile, the Greens have launched a politically charged attempt to force Labor to choose between a central monitoring system for poker machines or cutting ties to the Labor Club.
Andrew Braddock has proposed two sets of amendments to a compulsory poker machine surrender scheme bill which is currently before the Legislative Assembly.
The first set of amendments set out the establishment of a central monitoring system by July 2028, while the second set of amendments would make clubs set up to promote or support one political party ineligible to operate poker machines in the ACT.
The amendment targets the Canberra Labor Club, which has a short-term objective to "promote and support the Australian Labor Party".
Labor said the amendments were "legally questionable and provocative" and had been designed to score political points.
