NSW RSL executive cop heat for gambling reforms stance

New South Wales sub-branches and members of the Returned Services League (RSL) Australia have come out to criticise the state executive for speaking against gambling reforms in the state through a newsletter to members.

They expressed disappointment at how the executive is urging members to oppose the government’s move towards cashless gaming instead of supporting the government initiative.

In the newsletter, Chief Executive of the NSW RSL Margot Smith asked members to unite against the introduction of cashless gaming cards in the state as the successful introduction can have “unintended consequences” on RSL clubs in the state.

“With recent media scrutiny and political point scoring, we need to galvanise the industry to have a united voice where it counts,” Smith said.

She emphasised that gambling as a form of personal entertainment has been in existence for over 4,322 years in one form or the other, while implying that cashless gaming cards will diminish people’s freedom in pursuing their desired means of entertainment.

She then urged members to help circulate “a more balanced view of gambling” while a better digital solution, such as digital wallets, is being developed. 
 
“Why rush a solution when we haven’t been able to solve it for five years or more? We need solutions to help problem gamblers and to keep money launderers out of our clubs, but we’re yet to be convinced that cashless cards would achieve this outcome,” she said.

Cashless gaming cards entered the conversation when the NSW Independent Commission produced a report that showed how billions of dollars are being laundered through the pokies and recommended a cashless gaming policy.

Ever since the report, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has been pushing for its establishment in the state, not only to curb money laundering but because the state had been “profiting off people’s misery” due to sky-high levels of problem gambling in the state. 

Ever since the premier announced the move, several parties have been coming forward to oppose it. This appears to be the latest campaign against cashless gaming in NSW.

Meanwhile, Eamon Hale, president of the Hawthorn RSL sub-branch in Victoria has expressed his disappointment about Smith’s comments. He noted that RSLs were made to cater to the needs of post-Vietnam veterans in the country in a way that is “morally righteous, more ethnically pure”.

He added that he was not against real money gaming, but he said the body’s association with gambling was too strong and harmful to veterans.

“We are the RSL – one of the mainstays of our country that’s been here for 106 years – we should be a trusted organisation and unfortunately gaming, in the way it is currently regulated, isn’t trusted,” Hale said.

“It’s a practice that preys on vulnerable people and I don’t think the RSL – an organisation that is supposed to help vulnerable people – should be reliant on a business practice that preys on the vulnerable.”

Other critics see Ms. Smith’s comments not just as harmful but tone-deaf to the needs of the members of the body. They express displeasure at the unbridled use of poker machines among veterans which ultimately breeds problem gambling.  

Australian RSLs have long been a home for poker machines across Australia, with these playing a large role in the growth of the RSLs, with almost all of the major ones housing slots games.

There is also a growing push to regulate online casinos and online poker rooms in Australia, with millions of dollars sent to illegal offshore gambling sites from Australia under the current laws.

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