Unions NSW Secretary throws weight behind cashless gaming policy

Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey has come out to lend support to Premier Dominic Perrottet’s push for gambling reform in the state.

Morey is backing the introduction of cashless gaming cards in the state while calling out the ALP, its traditional political ally, to do the same ahead of the NSW State Election in March 2023. 

Morey believes the cashless gaming cards will help to curb the issue of problem gambling in NSW and so supporting the move should be “a no-brainer for politicians of all stripes”.

Morey said poker machines were a way to tax the poor to further enrich the wealthy but with the introduction of cashless gaming cards, “one more hurdle” will be put in the way of vulnerable gamblers which would prevent them from harming themselves financially.

For Morey, there is an urgent need for the policy, especially as poker machines were “taking billions from workers’ pockets and facilitating money laundering”. This he said referring to the report of the NSW Independent Commission that revealed how billions in illegal funds go through NSW pokies yearly. 

“Within these vast headline figures lie shocking numbers of ruined lives, lost wages and acute social damage,” Morey said. “We know that working-class communities disproportionately shoulder the burden of problem gambling.”

The push for cashless gaming cards is a “a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tackle an insidious problem in our society”, according to Morey. H

“The government that enacts this policy must ensure it does so with a guarantee that no worker will be left worse off,” he said. “We need a comprehensive package to make sure anyone whose job is affected by the transition is supported financially and vocationally.” 

Morey’s support for the premier’s proposed reforms is the latest of the many prominent people and bodies that have come out to express their backing for gambling reform in NSW.

NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, NSW Health Services Union, United Workers Union, churches and leading charities are among the ones supporting the policy.

However, despite the seemingly overwhelming support, the opposition and ALP party leader Chris Minns has refused to agree to the policy, stating that more evidence on the efficacy of the cards should be gathered through expanded trials. He expressed skepticism towards cashless gaming as it is likely to induce gambling harm among the card holders.

He justified this stance through a 2020 study by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation that showed gambling cards could cause gambling harm. 

But critics of the leader see the stance as a delay tactic from “doing the right thing”.

“The only friend Labor has on this issue is the greedy gambling industry that is only interested in protecting the billions in pokies profits they take out of our communities,” Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, said. 

In spite of the public support for the premier’s policy, ClubsNSW are not relenting in their campaign against the introduction of cashless gaming in the state. It recently got a new ally in RSL NSW which had the Chief executive Margot Smith urging members not to support the policy as it might have “unintended consequences” on the livelihood of the association. 

Responding to the statement of union leader Mark Morey, premier Dominic Perrottet noted the significance of the union speaking up for the policy.

“It’s not for me to comment on the Labor opposition here in NSW. They’re interested in short term politics; I’m interested in doing what is right,” he said.

“We cannot have a situation where we are profiting off other people’s misery.” 

The subject of gambling reform is shaping as a huge election issue heading to the polls on March 25. The ALP is currently the $1.48 favourite with online bookmakers to be the next sworn in government in NSW, with the incumbent LNP blowing out to $2.63.


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