Have your say on laws that help minimise gambling harm
The NSW Government is committed to reducing gambling harm across NSW.
The Gaming Machines Amendment (Gambling Harm Minimisation) Bill 2020 will update the Gaming Machines Act 2001 to help registered clubs and hotels minimise gambling harm and provide support to gaming machine players.
The Bill would change responsibility for managing gambling-related harms. Instead of only needing to provide support when someone specifically asks for help, clubs and hotels would need to actively identify and assist gaming machine players who display problematic gambling behaviours.
Some of the changes would include:
- venues to have a person on duty who has completed advanced Responsible Conduct of Gambling training and will identify and respond to problematic gambling behaviours
- a new exclusion scheme in clubs and hotels, so family members can ask venues to ban someone whose problematic gambling behaviours are causing harm to themselves or others
- making it easier for venues to issue and enforce their own exclusion orders
- allowing a person to self-exclude via an online portal
- a state-wide exclusion register, so that different exclusion schemes and individual venues can record exclusions in one place
- requiring that venues suspend an excluded person’s player account and membership of any player reward scheme
- new and increased penalties
- whistle-blower protections for club and hotel staff who inform Liquor & Gaming NSW or the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority when a hotel or club breaks harm minimisation rules
- any winnings by people who’ve been excluded or are under 18 will be forfeited to the Responsible Gambling Fund, which funds programs and initiatives to help reduce gambling harm.
The proposed changes respond to the need to support gaming machine players experiencing problems and improve the way clubs and hotels can minimise gambling harm as they continue to get back to business.
The draft Bill, summary of changes and explanatory paper are available on the NSW Customer Service website.
