Key Points
- Independent and minor party MPs, as well as anti-gambling advocates, are pushing for an Anzac Day ban on pokies.
- Anti-gambling advocates say military veterans experienced disproportionate levels of gambling harm.
- The NSW premier says gambling is an Anzac Day tradition and individuals should make their own decisions.
Under the amendment, to be moved in parliament on Tuesday, the traditional Anzac Day pursuit of playing two-up would be spared from the ban.
“No veteran should spend Anzac Day sitting alone in front of a poker machine designed by behavioural psychologists to addict them,” he said.
NSW premier Chris Minns says people traditionally gamble on Anzac Day. Source: AAP / Darren England
But Premier Chris Minns said people traditionally gambled on Anzac Day and it was up to individuals to make their own decisions.
“Even if we did close down other forms of gambling on the day, two-up is still legal in NSW … I’m not saying this is perfect, but I think that this is a commonsense decision.”
NSW has among the highest per-capita concentrations of poker machines of any jurisdiction in the world, with gambling losses for 2023 hitting a record $8.1 billion.
The major parties’ promises followed a damning NSW Crime Commission report that found criminals were funnelling billions in “dirty” cash through poker machines in pubs and clubs with few controls.
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