Cashless trial in NSW gambling locations

In New South Wales there is a new trial underway to test is cashless gaming will reduce the risk of gambling harm and anti-money laundering. This trial is introduced after casinos like The Crown in Sydney and Star Casino were found to be unsuitable to hold  casino license after it lacked responsible gaming and anti-money laundering control.  

Due to all the mess made by the casino regarding responsible gaming, the government is going to tighten up the gambling regulations. They have already set limits for gambling in land based casinos, which means players can lose a maximum amount of AU$1,000 per day. Moreover, when players want to cash out AU$1,000 or more, they will have to do a identification check.

Now they are doing a trial with cashless gambling, which should be a massive leap forward in fighting money laundering. This trial will be live for three months and should give a good insight in the real-life use of a gamble card where players can deposit money on. Kevin Anderson, Minister of Hospitality and Racing, about the new trial: “The trial is part of an exciting new era where innovations such as digital wallets offer customers greater convenience and control over their spending and help venues and authorities identify suspected cases of money laundering,” he said.

“Technology developed by Aristocrat Gaming has been installed on 36 of the Wests club’s gaming machines using Bluetooth to connect patrons’ mobile phones to machines. The technology will allow for a Bluetooth connection between a patron’s mobile phone and the machine. This will let patrons transfer money directly from the gaming wallet on their phone onto the machine.

After the trials are finished a conclusion will be drawn from the results. If the trial was successful, we will maybe see only cashless gaming in Australia in the near future.