The NSW Government has announced reforms introducing a statewide exclusion register and mandatory facial recognition at gaming-room entrances from 2028. Covering every hotel and club with gaming machines, the package also introduces third-party exclusions, ends gaming-related VIP programmes and tightens marketing and machine-entitlement rules.
Hotels and clubs with gaming machines will join a single statewide exclusion framework from 2028.
Facial recognition will become mandatory at gaming-room entrances when the register launches.
Eligible third parties will be able to seek the exclusion of people experiencing gambling harm.
Gaming-related VIP programmes will end, requiring venues to review loyalty and customer-retention practices.
The forfeiture rate for traded gaming machine entitlements will increase from one in three to one in two.
New restrictions will cover direct marketing, affiliate promotions and gambling advertising on public assets.
The government will invest AU$95.2 million over four years to implement the package.
Under the existing NSW framework, people can voluntarily exclude themselves from selected gaming areas or entire venues. Enforcement largely depends on individual hotels, clubs and staff identifying excluded customers.
The announced NSW Statewide Exclusion Register will consolidate these arrangements into one system. An exclusion will apply across every NSW hotel and club with gaming machines rather than a limited group of nominated venues. The model has similarities to Australia’s national BetStop self-exclusion register, although BetStop applies to licensed online and telephone wagering services rather than land-based gaming rooms.
Mandatory facial recognition will support the register by alerting venue staff when a potentially excluded person enters a gaming area. The government expects the technology to reduce reliance on manual identification, particularly in crowded venues.
A voluntary NSW code of practice has applied to venues using facial recognition since March 2026. Moving to a mandatory system will require hotels, clubs and technology providers to prepare for stricter privacy, data-security and operational requirements before the 2028 launch.
The reform will make biometric data governance a significant compliance responsibility for NSW venues. Operators will need controls covering image capture, database matching, alert handling, staff access and the retention or deletion of biometric information.
The government said privacy experts were consulted during development of the package. However, implementation standards will determine how venues manage false matches, system accuracy, cybersecurity risks and customer complaints.
The changes build on NSW’s 2026 gambling compliance priorities, which identified loyalty and VIP programmes, direct advertising and customer-retention practices as areas of regulatory attention.
NSW also plans to upgrade its Centralised Monitoring System over the next two years, creating infrastructure that can support voluntary account-based gaming. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the package stops short of making account-based play compulsory, allowing venues to adopt compatible systems at their discretion.
The reforms will prohibit gambling advertising across NSW Government and council-owned assets. Betting providers will also be barred from sending marketing through telephone calls, emails or text messages without prior express consent.
These state restrictions will operate alongside Australia’s proposed gambling advertising reforms, which would introduce wider controls covering wagering promotions, inducements, affiliates and digital platforms.
Gaming-related VIP programmes will be discontinued, while transparency requirements will apply to promotions involving affiliates and social media influencers. Commissions linked to higher-risk gambling products will also face restrictions.
NSW has around 87,000 poker machines across approximately 2,100 hotels and clubs. Increasing the forfeiture rate to one in two means one entitlement will be permanently removed for every two traded. A new sinking cap will reduce the statewide limit as entitlements leave circulation.
According to the official NSW Government announcement, AU$20 million will be directed to the Responsible Gambling Fund over two years to support GambleAware services and other harm-prevention programmes.
