New South Wales has announced its most substantial gaming reform package in years. Across Australia, governments are revisiting how poker machines are monitored, how exclusions are enforced and how much responsibility venues should carry when gambling becomes harmful. NSW will introduce a statewide exclusion register backed by mandatory facial recognition at gaming-room entrances from 2028. The package also includes third-party exclusions, an end to gaming-related VIP programs, tighter advertising rules and the permanent removal of more machine entitlements when they are traded. The state has around 87,000 poker machines across approximately 2,100 hotels and clubs. The NSW Gambling Survey 2024 found 3.1% of adults experienced moderate-risk gambling and 0.9 per cent experienced high-risk gambling. Those percentages may appear small, but gambling related harm rarely stays with one person. Families, workplaces and communities often can carry the burden of the individuals financial hardship, emotional disruptions and every day stress that go with it. Tasmania is heading down a similar path. In January 2026, its Government announced mandatory facial recognition for excluded patrons, immediate self-exclusion technology, longer daily closures for gaming areas and limits on Ticket In Ticket Out loading. Treasurer Eric Abetz said: “As a community, we must seek to protect the most vulnerable among us.” Tasmania previously proposed a universal cashless player card with mandatory pre-commitment limits. That proposal was deferred in late 2024 following industry opposition and concerns about cost and implementation. The replacement package shows exactly where the national debate now sits: there is growing acceptance that stronger safeguards are needed, but much less agreement about which safeguards are practical, proportionate and effective. The same pattern can be seen elsewhere. South Australia already requires approved facial recognition in larger gaming venues that use banknote acceptors. Queensland now permits venues to use facial recognition to identify excluded or banned patrons. Victoria has committed to mandatory carded play and pre-commitment across electronic gaming machines, building on carded play already operating at Crown Melbourne. So, has industry opinion changed? I think it has, but not in the sense that everyone now supports every reform. The bigger change is that the argument is moving away from whether venues have a role in harm minimisation and towards how that responsibility should work. Industry representatives in NSW and Tasmania have supported better exclusion systems and facial recognition that helps staff identify excluded patrons, even while mandatory player cards have faced strong resistance. Opposition becomes sharper when reforms require every customer to register, alter the way all patrons play or impose major costs on smaller venues. That is a fair debate to have. Facial recognition is not a magic switch. It involves sensitive biometric information, and its success depends on privacy safeguards, accuracy, reliable systems and well-prepared staff. A policy can look impressive in a media release and still stumble when an alert reaches a frontline employee on a busy Saturday night. There is also a larger commercial question. Governments can tighten gaming rules, but venues need realistic support to diversify into food, events, live entertainment and other experiences. Clubs and pubs are employers, gathering places and community supporters. Reducing reliance on gaming revenue will take investment and time. Australia may not be moving towards one national model, but it is moving in one clear direction. The old question was whether change was needed. The new question is whether governments and industry can make it work.
