NSW will introduce mandatory facial recognition in gaming rooms as part of new pokies (gaming machine) reforms, with venues required to implement the technology and comply with strengthened enforcement measures. Under the changes, a statewide exclusion register will be used to prevent people who are banned from gaming rooms from accessing machines.
Multiple outlets report that the reforms also involve stricter compliance and enforcement expectations for venue operators. While details can vary by outlet, the overall direction is consistent: the rules increase monitoring of access and rely on a central register to support exclusions.
The reporting also notes a political context for the package. All three sources say Labor has dropped plans for a “super profits tax,” indicating that the government’s approach to pokies reform is not including that revenue measure. The outlets differ mainly in emphasis—some foreground enforcement mechanisms like the exclusion register, while others highlight the political decision to remove the super profits proposal—rather than the core policy steps.
