Australian Government Announces Development of Gambling Regulations Commission

Australian spokespersons for Gambling and Harm Reduction forced the New South Wales (NSW) government to develop a Royal Commission to regulate the gambling sector. 

Cate Faehrmann, a member of the Australian Parliament from the Greens party and a spokesperson for Gambling and Harm Reduction, has shared the notice of a motion in the upper house parliament to design a royal commission to supervise the NSW hotel gambling sector to combat money laundering. Miss Faehrmann addresses the other parliament members to support the bill as the local clubs and indoor hotels gambling are vulnerable to scammers and convenient for the money launderers. Furthermore, the investigation found that a significant amount of money laundering occurred in a few locations of indoor gambling. The spokesperson, Miss Faehrmann, called the revelations “deeply concerning” and said that she felt this evidence was enough for the Premier to take action. Helen Delton, an independent parliament member, also submitted the same motion to create a commission to regulate indoor gambling in the lower house of the parliament.  

The call ended with collecting various documents from the NSW government and both parliament houses, including the previous papers. The documents disclosed that Victor Dominello, the then-minister for gaming, received a letter from Philip Crawford, the previous director of the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority (ILGA), on November 30th, 2021, requesting the government to establish a “Special Commission” of Inquiry into alleged money laundering activities in neighbourhood clubs and hotels. The letter also revealed that ILGA research showed clear evidence that local hotels and clubs are just as prone to laundering funds as the casino industry. According to the information gathered, approximately 2,500 locations in NSW are permitted to host and run gambling machines without any oversight or regulating bodies. 

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