New South Wales Gambling Reforms Could Impact Crypto Betting Future

The Liquor and Gaming regulator in New South Wales, Australia, is welcoming public feedback on two proposals: mandatory exclusion measures and facial recognition technology for gambling premises.

There have been a series of gambling reforms in the Australian state in recent years, most of them placing restrictions on the industry. Crypto sportsbooks and casinos have rarely been discussed, despite crypto giant Stake being Australia-headquartered.

NSW Government Eyes Facial Recognition for Gambling Venues

The NSW government is considering introducing facial recognition technology to heighten consumer protection. It has been suggested that the technology will “support gambling harm-minimization” by reducing the scope for human error.

The technology would be used to identify excluded patrons, often in crowded venues. Human interaction would then be required to verify the match made by the system. The government has outlined that currently, venue staff need to memorize excluded patrons and images and the system is not fit for purpose.

It has emphasized that “strict parameters” are being defined, in order to protect people’s privacy and ensure that venues will only use facial recognition for the intended purpose. It will not permit images to be used for customer tracking, surveillance, or marketing purposes.

“Facial recognition will also be an important harm-minimisation tool by providing another way to identify excluded patrons in crowded venue environments, which can often be challenging for venue staff,” commented the Minister for Gaming and Racing, David Harris.

Family and Friends May Soon Have Power to Ban Problem Gamblers

Furthermore, the New South Wales government has said it’s “delivering on its election commitment” by introducing a third-party exclusion scheme.

Under the proposed scheme, family, friends, and venues would be permitted to apply to ban someone who they believe to be experiencing significant gambling harm. Figures suggest that more than 1,000,000 customers in Australia experienced harm in the past year owing to someone else’s gambling habits.

The initial proposal suggests a minimum period for an exclusion order being twelve months. The maximum period is, however, more vague, saying “two or three years,” and should proposals remain unchanged, there will be a temporary exclusion period of 21 days while any application is considered.

NSW Tightens Gambling Laws: Cash Limits, Machine Caps, and More

The NSW government has made several reforms to the state’s gambling legislation in the last two years. These include reducing the amount of cash a customer can put into a new gaming machine from AUD$5,000 to $500.

In addition, the state-wide cap on gaming machine entitlements has been reduced by approximately 3,000. Further curbs on gaming machine owners include a requirement to have a Responsible Gambling Officer in venues where there are more than 20 machines and banning political donations from clubs that have the aforementioned machines.

External gaming-related signage is strictly prohibited, and any internal signage that can be seen from outside is also forbidden. In addition, gaming advertising in its entirety has now been banned from public transport in the state.

Despite Gambling Restrictions, Crypto Finds New Uses in NSW

NSW’s reforms have typically been specifically targeted at brick-and-mortar locations with electric gaming machines.

The country has the third-largest hub of crypto ATMs and last week, a small pie shop in New South Wales started accepting Bitcoin as payment for its produce, providing hope for crypto-adjacent expansion in the future.

The pie shop, situated in the small town of Uralla, took its first Bitcoin payment last week.