Principles

The Greens NSW recognise that:

1. Problem gambling is a public health issue that negatively affects individuals, families and communities. The government should act to build community capacity in preventing and reducing the harm caused by problem gambling and help people to overcome gambling problems so that they can resume their family, work, community and financial responsibilities.
2. The social and health costs of gambling must be reduced and the most appropriate approach is evidence-based harm prevention and minimisation measures.
3. The prevalence and costs of problem gambling are directly related to the accessibility of  Electronic Gambling Machines.
4. Because EGMs are concentrated in areas of social and economic disadvantage, the social and health costs of gambling disproportionately affect these communities.
5. The NSW government has a conflict of interest as both the regulator of electronic gambling machines (EGMs) and the beneficiary of EGM tax revenue.

Goals

The Greens NSW will work to:

6. Reduce the proportion of the NSW population with gambling problems.
7. Prevent gambling-related harms through public awareness, early identification of problems and provision of information, counselling and other interventions.
8. Reduce government revenue derived from gambling, with set goals over time until only a small proportion of govt revenue comes from gambling.
9. Ensure that the state operational budget is not dependent on gambling revenue.
10. Establish genuinely independent statutory gambling regulator, responsible for minimising the social and economic costs of gambling and protecting consumers and the public interest.
11. Develop a uniform (whole of industry) mandatory code of conduct across the gambling industry, to safeguard consumers and the industry with reasonable, enforceable sanctions for breaches of the code.
12. Ban political donations from the hotel and club industry and from manufacturers and distributors of EGMs.
13. Fund a buyback of EGM licenses with revenue raised from gambling.

Detail

The Greens NSW support:

14. Adopting evidence-based strategies likely to reduce problem gambling activity.
15. Prohibiting the advertising and promotion of internet and interactive television gambling.
16. Requiring that plans to introduce new forms of gambling or amendments to existing forms of gambling are comprehensively researched to assess potential impacts and can only be introduced by legislation.
17. Rolling back the number of EGMs to a state-wide maximum of 10,000 and reducing the number of EGMs in clubs by 25% over the next 5 years.
18. Establishing state-wide LGA-based caps on the number of EGMs, whereby no LGA can have more than 120% of the state average density of EGMs.
19. Establishing a 'sinking lid' policy on EGM licenses, whereby no new EGMs are approved and licences are not replaced as facilities surrender licences.
20. Capping winnings payable by machines at $100 and winnings payable by a cashier at $250, with additional winnings payable only by cheque.
21. Removing banknote acceptors from machines, returning them to coin-only operation.
22. Prohibiting the electronic crediting of winnings, with winnings having to be paid out immediately.
23. Restricting the provision of food and drink that encourages problem gambling.
24. Requiring all EGMs to show correct time while in play; reducing the reel speed of EGMs; and removing visual and sound stimuli from EGMs, particularly when a win takes place
25. Requiring that all EGMs must include a feature that interrupts play every 30 minutes to provide player with information; including duration of session, the amount of money player has spent during session, and the player's net wins and net losses during session.
26. Requiring that all EGMs must display game information including payout ratios and the probability of winning.
27. Requiring natural lighting in gambling venues.
28. Lengthening shut down periods of gambling venues and strengthening the regulation of exemptions from the full shutdown period.
29. Removing ATMs from all gambling venues (except in country towns with no other accessible ATM) and ensure EFTPOS facilities at venues to not permit cash withdrawals.
30. Banning electronic gambling from retail shopping centres, aged and other care facilities, and outdoor venues.
31. Establishing an accountable self-exclusion policy and practice where breaches are fineable and able to be imposed on both the consumer and the venue.
32. Requiring that all gaming room staff are trained in responsible gambling practises, so that staff are able to identify and approach problem gamblers to provide them with information. on the characteristics and risks of problem gambling, and be able to direct them to counselling services available and offer self exclusion.  
    Adopting a public health approach to problem gambling and giving NSW Health responsibility for problem gambling.
33. Establishing ongoing independent research into the impacts of gambling to inform state policy development; and requiring reporting on gambling revenue by venue to be freely available.
34. Requiring pre-market independent testing of EGMs to ensure product safety before they are released into the community.