On day one of a gambling harm awareness week, one of the biggest pokies clubs in Australia reminded members they could earn rewards by using their machines.
GambleAware week is an annual campaign run by the New South Wales government to raise awareness of gambling harm. It urges people to set limits, to stay sober while gambling, to balance gambling with other interests and not to chase losses.
But on 21 October, Canterbury Leagues club, which has more than 600 poker machines, emailed members to promote a new digital tool allowing them to “use your mobile phone to quickly tap and connect to a gaming machine” – a move experts allege could be at odds with a ban on advertising poker machine gambling.
The service, known as TapIt, is described by its developer, Ebet, as a “gamechanger for venues” that provides “a seamless gaming experience with players no longer needing a traditional membership card”.
“Continue to earn engage rewards and status points while you play, no different to earning on your physical member card,” said the email from Canterbury Leagues Club.
The club offers one engage point for every $10 spent on poker machines, according to guidelines. Those points can be used to buy discount drinks and food at the venue. Status points determine the size of the discount.
Associate professor Charles Livingstone, a gambling expert at Monash University, alleged the email appeared to be “an advertisement for their gambling facilities and their loyalty program, which is possibly at odds with the prohibition on advertising [poker machine] gambling”.
“The message that membership cards are now available using the app could have been made without the significant emphasis on maintaining one’s gambling habit, and should have been,” Livingstone said.
Canterbury Leagues club was contacted for comment.
The email did not reference GambleAware week. It is not known whether other emails were sent to members highlighted the campaign and its key messages.
According to the NSW government, the TapIt tool does not allow funds to be transferred to gambling machines. But the Canterbury Leagues club website tells members it can be used to “transfer funds to and from machines”.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, the party’s spokesperson for gambling harm reduction, said she was concerned the tool might make it easier for people to gamble.
“TapIt claims that this new technology is a gamechanger for venues, which surely is code for it will get more money out of people,” Faehrmann said.
Ebet was contacted for comment but deferred questions to the NSW government.
The Canterbury Leagues club is part of the state government’s cashless gaming trial.
The trial was criticised by the opposition earlier this month after confirmation only 32 “active” gamblers had taken part, with another 200 people registered. One in two venues that signed up the voluntary scheme have withdrawn.
A spokesperson for the NSW minister for gaming, David Harris, said the trial was providing “important learnings” with results to be presented to an independent panel for assessment later this month.
“Fourteen venues and three technology providers have participated in the trial, with the technologies installed on 2,388 machines, exceeding the government’s election commitment of 500,” the spokesperson said.
