Today marks 70 years since poker machines were legalised in New South Wales, and support groups are using the milestone to call for more reforms to help addicted gamblers.
On September 19 1956, poker machines were legalised in clubs across the state.
Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron, says governments have a long history of acting when evidence shows intervention can protect people and prevent harm.
“We did not make seat belts voluntary and hope people would use them. When the evidence clearly showed they saved lives, governments acted, reducing the carnage on our roads markedly. Preventing gambling harm should be no different,” he said.
In the first six months of 2026, people in NSW lost $4.75 billion to poker machines, $311 million more than during the same period last year.
“We have the data, the research and, sadly, now decades of experience. What we lack is the political will to act,” Cameron said.
A new Wesley Mission survey shows public trust in the Government on gambling reform has collapsed.
The NSW Community Attitudes to Poker Machines and Gambling Reform survey, conducted by The Insight Centre, found 84 per cent of NSW adults do not trust the NSW Government to stand up to the gambling industry, while half believe the gambling lobby has too much influence on NSW politics.
“For decades the NSW pokies industry has enjoyed a domineering voice in our state. This survey says the community wants its voice heard louder and clearer too,” Cameron said.
Wesley Mission is calling for a package of reforms including a mandatory midnight-to-10am shutdown of poker machines and mandatory account-based gambling with built-in harm minimisation measures.
Cameron says a midnight shutdown is a simple reform that would reduce access to poker machines during the highest-risk hours without requiring pubs and clubs to close.
“You can still have a beer. You can still have a meal. You can still see a band. Sydney can still enjoy the thriving nighttime economy we deserve. We aren’t asking pubs and clubs to close. Just pull the plug on pokies after midnight,” he said.
The pokies anniversary is an opportunity for NSW to decide what role poker machines should play in the decades ahead, according to Cameron.
“Reform is never convenient. Industries resist it. Governments worry about revenue, and a cashed-up, all-powerful pubs and clubs lobby protecting their super profits,” he said.
“We cannot change the decision made in 1956. We can decide what happens next. Some things from 1956 belong in history. It is time to put pokies in their place.”
Last month the State Government rolled out fresh gambling reforms.
They include a statewide exclusion register with mandatory facial recognition technology at the entry of gaming rooms, a third‑party exclusion scheme in hotels and clubs, an increased forfeiture rate of one in two (from one in three), and the end of VIP programs related to gaming.
Currently, NSW has around 87,000 poker machines across some 2,100 clubs and hotels.
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