Wesley Mission says reports of people gambling extraordinary sums of money until 4am should be a wake-up call for the NSW Government to stop delaying the introduction of strong and robust poker machine reforms and act to prevent gambling harm.
The Sydney Morning Herald investigation into gambling activity at Club Marconi reinforces the urgent need for a mandatory overnight shutdown of poker machines and mandatory account-based gambling across NSW.
Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron, says the allegations raised in the investigation point to broader concerns about gambling harm, transparency and oversight across the club sector.
“This eye-opening report is a reminder that gambling reform remains unfinished business in New South Wales. When people are reportedly gambling until 4am six or seven nights a week, spending vast sums of money, every alarm bell should be ringing. We know some of the highest-risk gambling occurs late at night and in the early hours of the morning.”
Rev Cameron says Wesley Mission continues to call for a mandatory overnight shutdown of poker machines across the state.
“Nothing good happens in a poker machine room in the early hours of the morning. An overnight shutdown is one of the simplest and most practical reforms available to reduce gambling harm.
“For years clubs and pubs argue against stronger safeguards. Stories like this demonstrate why greater consumer protections are needed.”
Rev Cameron says the investigation also raises broader questions about the consistency of gambling regulation across different venue types.
“Casinos face significant regulatory reform and scrutiny. The community is entitled to ask why the same standard of accountability and harm minimisation is not expected across all gambling venues. By their size many of our clubs are effectively casinos in all but name and should be robustly regulated as such.
“Alongside an overnight shutdown Wesley Mission continues to support mandatory account-based gambling and other evidence-based reforms that help prevent harm before it occurs.”
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