New South Wales is inviting tech providers and land-based venues to apply for cashless gaming trials to help inform a future regulatory framework.
Each trial is expected to run for at least three months to ensure there is sufficient data to address key areas, with the impact of these technologies to be identified, monitored, and assessed by an independent researcher.
Issuing its latest update regarding the state’s cashless gaming ambitions, Liquor and Gaming NSW has revealed three key areas that each solution should look to address. These are stipulated as:
- Changes, if any, in player attitudes and behaviours due to the use of technology, including changes in gambling behaviour, the ability to manage and control spend, the frequency and duration of sessions and the level of harm experienced.
- Player experiences using the technology, particularly the harm minimisation tools made available, and any barriers identified.
- Areas for improvement to reduce gambling harm or for consumer protection.
The Independent Panel on Gaming Reform, established in June, has issued the plea, with interested applicants having to meet a set of minimum requirements.
These include harm minimisation, anti-money laundering protections, and data security and privacy protections, as well as specific requirements for venues.
A series of trials will be held in a bid to assess how these cashless gaming solutions operate in real-world conditions in clubs and hotels.
Thus far, one Aristocrat trial commenced on October 10, 2022, and concluded on June 22, 2023, with a final report expected in the latter stages of the year, while a similar pilot concerning IGT is currently underway. Tech was deployed in all 112 gaming machines at Club York, in central Sydney, which began in April 2023.
A Light & Wonder test at Crows Nest Hotel has been approved, with Utopia having submitted a fresh proposal after Liquor & Gaming NSW previously approved a trial of the group’s digital wallet tech.
Earlier in the year, NSW advanced its cashless gaming ambitions through the formation of the aforementioned independent panel to establish, implement, evaluate and review an impending trial.
Representatives from the likes of NSW cyber security and police force will also provide input, with the panel to deliver a final report, findings and recommendations, including an implementation roadmap for gaming reforms, to the state government at its conclusion.
The group can also seek input from a wide range of external experts in the field and government bodies, such as the NSW Crime Commission, NSW Information and Privacy Commission and AUSTRAC.
