The New South Wales government is facing calls to invest some of the proceeds from a record $100 million fine imposed on beleaguered casino giant Star Entertainment group into independent gambling harm reduction initiatives.
Leading doctors, religious groups, anti-gambling advocates and the Greens of NSW are urging the state government to allocate at least 25 per cent of the $100m penalty to create an independent gambling harm reduction foundation.
The casino group was fined after a four-month independent investigation led by Adam Bell SC found it had a deep-rooted cultural problem and had failed to stop criminal activity including money laundering. The $100 million fine is the maximum possible penalty under laws introduced by the New South Wales government in August and exceeds the $80 million fine imposed by the Victorian Games authorities on Crown Resorts earlier this year.
Dr John Crozier of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons said NSW should seize the opportunity to act on the harm of gambling. “There have been not only inquiries about the state’s two casino giants, but also an inquiry about poker machines, and now is the time to invest in independent resources and research the harms of gambling,” Crozier said.
There is increasing pressure on the government to invest a $100 million penalty to reduce the harms of gambling.attributed to him:Nick Muir
The New South Wales government established the Office of Responsible Gambling to coordinate gaming harm research initiatives in 2018. The office committed $33 million to initiatives to prevent and reduce harm gambling in 2022 and 2023 including initiatives such as Gamble Aware Week, which kicked off on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Independent New South Wales Casino Commission said the star’s penalty payment schedule is still under development but will eventually go to the Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund. Games Secretary Kevin Anderson and the Department of Customer Service, which oversees Revenue NSW, did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the regulator said: “Under the legislation, a fine is payable to the Minister as a debt to the Crown, which must be deposited into the Consolidated Fund of the NSW Government.”
Carol Bennett, chair of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, said the state government’s failure to minimize the negative effects of The Star’s Sydney operations demonstrated the need for a truly independent body, referring to a similar case in 2001 that saw the creation of the Alcohol Research and Education Foundation after the imposition of a 25-dollar alcohol tax Million dollars on breweries.
“There has been an astonishing regulatory failure when it comes to The Star, ignoring the harm of gambling is not in keeping with society,” Bennett said.
Originally published at Melbourne News Vine
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