New South Wales Announces Gambling Reforms to Strengthen Consumer Safeguards
TL;DR — NSW’s Minns Labor Government has detailed reforms citing Gambling Survey 2024 data of 3.1% moderate-risk and 0.9% high-risk adults. Measures include cutting poker machines from 87,000 via higher forfeiture rates, mandatory facial recognition for a new exclusion register, account-based play, VIP bans, and stricter ad and marketing consent rules.
SCCG Take — Operators face direct revenue pressure from fewer machines and constrained marketing, but clearer compliance boundaries may reduce longer-term enforcement exposure.
The Minns Labor Government in New South Wales has announced a series of reforms to strengthen consumer safeguards and protect players from gambling-related harms. The changes respond to heightened public scrutiny and sector shifts, drawing on data from the Gambling Survey 2024.
That survey showed 3.1% of the adult population experiencing moderate risk gambling and 0.9% qualifying as high-risk gamblers. The outlined measures are now at various stages of implementation and enforcement, targeting machine density, access controls, incentives, and promotion.
Reducing Machine Numbers and Upgrading Exclusion Controls
The government intends to lower the total number of poker machines, which have reached 87,000 units statewide. It will do so by increasing the forfeiture rate when gaming machine entitlements are traded from one in three to one in two.
“The NSW Government will increase the forfeiture rate when gaming machine entitlements are traded from one in three to one in two – meaning for every two entitlements traded, one will be permanently removed,” the NSW Government explained.
Facial recognition technology will be made mandatory to stop people on the statewide exclusion register from playing. That register has not yet been implemented and will replace the current voluntary system, enforcing limits when evidence shows an individual is struggling.
Account-based play is also being introduced so gamblers must register accounts rather than wager anonymously.
Restricting Incentives, Advertising, and Marketing Practices
VIP programs linked to gaming will be banned outright. Gambling advertising will be prohibited on NSW Government and council-owned assets.
Direct marketing via text or phone calls will be allowed only after individuals grant explicit consent. Transparency rules will rise, requiring advertisements, influencers, and affiliates to disclose any affiliation with gambling websites while ensuring ads better reflect the implied harm that gambling entails.
As reported by GamblingNews, the package arrives as pressure mounts on operators to meet tighter consumer-protection standards. The reforms will force measurable adjustments in venue operations, marketing channels, and compliance routines across the state.
Reporting: GamblingNews
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
NSW just raised the compliance floor for land-based operators — tighter access, fewer machines, stricter marketing — with real revenue and cost impact.
We've worked in every regulated market, and NSW's facial recognition mandate and account-based play set a new global benchmark. Operators who treat this as box-ticking will bleed margin; those who engineer compliance into customer experience will gain trust and regulatory goodwill when the rest of APAC follows suit.
- Poker machine count drops as entitlement forfeiture rises from 1-in-3 to 1-in-2 on trade
- Mandatory facial recognition for new statewide exclusion register; account-based play replaces anonymous wagering
- VIP programs banned; direct marketing requires explicit consent; ads must disclose affiliate ties and harm
SCCG angle: SCCG helps operators turn compliance into competitive advantage. Our network includes the tech providers building facial recognition and account-based platforms, the regulators shaping harm-minimization frameworks, and the agencies that can reposition your brand when VIP programs disappear. We connect you to the partners who've already done this in other markets.
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