{"id":193409,"date":"2021-11-29T10:27:11","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T18:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=193409"},"modified":"2021-11-29T11:21:15","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T19:21:15","slug":"over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/","title":{"rendered":"Over Aus $1B Laundered Through Slots in Australia Pubs and Clubs, Regulator Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than A$1 billion (US$710 million) a year in dirty money is being laundered through slot machines stationed in Australia\u2019s pubs and clubs. That\u2019s according to chief gaming investigator for the state of New South Wales, David Byrne, who spoke to The Age<\/em> this weekend.<\/p>\n

\"pokies
Around 76 percent the world\u2019s slot machines based in non-gaming venues are found in Australian pubs and clubs, such as these pictured. (Image: Andrew Meares\/The Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Australia, much of the recent focus on financial crime has involved casinos that have enabled criminals to wash money through their VIP tables, notably Crown Resorts<\/a>. But Byrne believes smaller slots venues also have a money laundering problem.<\/p>\n

Byrne and his team identified 130 gamblers engaging in money laundering activities inside pubs and clubs in the Greater Sydney area alone. That’s just in the four weeks after Australia\u2019s COVID-19 lockdown ended in mid-October,<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s \u2018Pokie Problem\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

According to the Australia Institute Tasmania, in 2017 there were 187,000 slots, or “pokies<\/a>,” as they are known colloquially, in pubs and clubs throughout the country. That represents 76 percent of the world\u2019s slot machines stationed in non-gaming venues. In New South Wales alone, there are 95,000 such machines.<\/p>\n

And while Australia has 0.3 percent of the world\u2019s population, it has 18 percent of its slot machines.<\/p>\n

\n

Speaking to The Age<\/em> over the weekend, Byrne called for the introduction of cashless wagering cards that would \u201cnegate the ability for people to walk in with a bag of cash and put $30,000 into a machine.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Surveillance footage from an unnamed Sydney pub seen by The Age<\/em> shows a gang member plowing $27,000 ($19,000) into a slot machine. He then bets $1 before cashing out the rest as \u201cwinnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the newspaper, the group is suspected of being part of one of several organized crime outfits using slots to wash money on Australia\u2019s east coast.<\/p>\n

Lack of Oversight<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Like casinos, pubs and clubs are required to file suspicious transaction reports (STRs) as part of national anti-money laundering directives. But there are concerns the venues are not doing their bit.<\/p>\n

Since January 2018, just 5.5 per cent of venues hosting slots in New South Wales have filed an STR to AUSTRAC, Australia\u2019s financial crimes investigation agency. That\u2019s despite evidence the problem is far more widespread.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re talking about, at the worst level, child exploitation, human trafficking, firearms trafficking … terrorism funding \u2013 all of those can be packaged up in the same conversation as money laundering,\u201d<\/strong> Byrne said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that clubs, where good, family orientated people across NSW go to have dinner, want [patrons] to be walking past organized criminals laundering cash,\u201d he said. \u201cI think, based on what we\u2019re finding, they [the venues] need a wake-up call, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than A$1 billion (US$710 million) a year in dirty money is being laundered through slot machines stationed in Australia\u2019s pubs and clubs. That\u2019s according to chief gaming investigator for the state of New South Wales, David Byrne, who spoke to The Age this weekend. In Australia, much of the recent focus on financial crime […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":193415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69293],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOver A$1 Billion Laundered Through Slots in Australia Pubs and Clubs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Australian slots, or \u201cpokies,\u201d in pubs and clubs could be laundering more than $1 billion each year, according to chief gaming investigator.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Over A$1 Billion Laundered Through Slots in Australia Pubs and Clubs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australian slots, or \u201cpokies,\u201d in pubs and clubs could be laundering more than $1 billion each year, according to chief gaming investigator.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-29T18:27:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-29T19:21:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pokies.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1488\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"866\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/\",\"name\":\"Over A$1 Billion Laundered Through Slots in Australia Pubs and Clubs\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pokies.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-29T18:27:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-29T19:21:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Australian slots, or \u201cpokies,\u201d in pubs and clubs could be laundering more than $1 billion each year, according to chief gaming investigator.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/over-a1-billion-laundered-through-slots-in-australia-pubs-and-clubs\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pokies.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/pokies.jpg\",\"width\":1488,\"height\":866,\"caption\":\"Around 76 percent the world\u2019s slot machines based in non-gaming venues are found in Australian pubs and clubs, such these pictured. 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