League clubs have a radical plan to stop criminals from playing the slot machines

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Hammond said these cases represent only a small minority of places, but the industry wanted to be proactive in preventing money laundering from occurring in places that were previously unaware it was happening.

“We enjoy working with authorities. You know who the criminals are and can let them know they have been warned about licensed premises.”

the annual conference regulating the game, has brought regulators and industry together following several damaging public inquiries that have led to stricter anti-money laundering rules. Crown Resorts and Star Entertainment Group have banned junket tours and agreed to phase out cash from their venues.

The NSW Crime Commission recommended extending cashless gaming to pubs and clubs as well, a measure that industry leaders oppose, although others in the industry have acknowledged it is unavoidable. The Government has pledged to adopt the measure if elected on March 25, while Labor wants an extended test of the technology.

In 2019 Austrac formed a specialist gaming team dealing with casinos, corporate bookmakers and pubs and clubs. A second team of specialists will start in 2023, focusing exclusively on pubs and clubs.

“It is absolutely right that we will continue to focus on the gaming sector in the future,” said Bradley Brown, Austrac’s National Manager of Education, Capability & Communications.

Liquor and Gaming NSW chief executive Jane Lin said her agency is turning its attention to gaming room signage. An inspection of 310 venues late last year – most of which had been inspected in the past six months – found 41 violations. Sixteen had ATMs in gaming areas, eight had slot machines visible from the outside, and six had prohibition signs visible from the outside.

“We focus on signs that contain images related to specific game franchises, slot machine artwork, or otherwise draw undue attention to slot machine availability within the venue,” Lin said.

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“Most worrying, I think, was the apparent level of non-compliance with fairly basic harm reduction measures, particularly the identification of a fair number of ATMs in slot areas.”

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