Former New South Wales Liquor, Gaming and Racing commissioner Michael Foggo will lead a panel of 16 to design and oversee the state’s government’s delayed cashless gambling trial, which is now expected to begin before November.
The appointments will be made today by the premier, Chris Minns, who will also announce a departmental review of the ClubGrants scheme that critics have argued is used by some clubs to funnel money back towards themselves with little transparency or oversight.
Minns said the new panel has been given a November 2024 reporting deadline for the trial, and needed to provide an “evidence-based roadmap” for future gambling reforms.
“We know the harmful effects of problem gaming on families, and I want to make sure we stamp out criminal activity in clubs,” he said.
“This panel is an important next step.”
Before the March state election, Labor promised that a panel would begin planning the expanded cashless gaming trial on 500 poker machines in clubs and pubs before 1 July. But last month, the government conceded there had been a delay.
The panel is expected to design and begin the 12-month trial within a few months, before handing findings and recommendations to the government late next year.
It has also been asked to provide advice to the government on the use of facial recognition technology, the self-exclusion register and technical and system standards.
Proponents for major gambling reforms have accused the government of bowing to pressure from gambling lobbyists after taking a less ambitious plan than the Coalition’s to the March election.
The new panel with include three independent executive committee members, including Foggo, former Labor senator Ursula Stephens and the former deputy leader of the NSW Nationals Niall Blair.
Foggo said it was important to reduce gambling harm, and stop money laundering and criminal activity, which was laid bare by the NSW crime commission last year.
“We want to make sure we get the balance right and consider all relevant factors so that any future reforms implemented by the NSW government work,” he said.
“The independent panel will get straight to work and will meet in the coming weeks to confirm the framework of the cashless gaming trial and recommend an appropriate mix of venues for the trial to the NSW government.”
The panel will also include four gaming industry representatives, four harm minimisation experts, two academics, one cybersecurity expert, someone from NSW Police and another from the United Workers Union that represents casino workers.
Privacy and cybersecurity will be key to the trial’s success, after a smaller pilot program was hit by hackers earlier this year.
The government has also asked for a departmental review of the ClubGrants scheme, which will be the first in a decade.
Since its inception, more than $1bn has been handed out and ClubsNSW says about $100m in donations are made via the scheme “to a variety of worthy causes” every year.
Critics claim there has been little oversight over its use since its inception and has been used by some to give money back to organisations linked with the clubs themselves.
