The NSW government will as of 31 March 2026 impose a standard six-hour window between 4am and 10am during which time all pubs and clubs across the state will be required to switch off their gaming machines. Although the industry already operates under this mandated window, new laws will look to revoke a raft of exemptions that many operators use to skirt the rules.
NSW is home to almost 88,000 electronic gaming machines, representing almost half of those installed nationwide.
In a statement, the government said its decision to review the “outdated” exemptions model follows a 2023 report titled “The Impact of electronic gaming machine (EGM) late night play on EGM player behaviour” which showed that 70.5% of people playing between 4am and 10am are classified as high risk or moderate risk gamblers. As such, the six-hour shutdown is a harm minimization measure intended to provide players with an important break in play so they have an opportunity to get “out of the zone” and reflect upon their behavior, the government explained.
However, it noted that more than 670 venues currently have a varied shutdown period for various reasons such as being in high traffic tourist locations, boasting a history of earlier opening hours or experiencing financial hardship.
An independent panel tasked with reviewing the six-hour shutdown period ultimately determined that existing variations be repealed, although it did not find any need to extend the period to longer than six hours.
“The Minns Labor Government takes gambling harm minimization seriously and these changes are a continuation of measures we are making to protecting people in NSW who are experiencing harm,” said Minister for Gaming & Racing, David Harris.
“Following months of review, it is clear the 20-year-old variations enabling more than 670 clubs and pubs with gaming machines to operate outside of the mandated hours were no longer fit for purpose.
“So, I have acted to revoke these variations and update the application process, in a phased way so that venues can still make their case to vary their hours.
“The NSW Government will continue to deliver evidence-based reforms to ensure we are striking the balance of addressing gambling harm while supporting an industry that contributes billions to the NSW economy and employs more than 150,000 people.”
Other initiatives introduced in recent years aimed at reducing EGM harm include reducing the cash input limit from AU$5,000 to AU$500 for all new gaming machines, reducing the state-wide cap on gaming machine entitlements so that every year the number of gaming machines reduces based on forfeiture rates, banning political donations from clubs with electronic gaming machines, banning external gaming-related signage and internal gaming-related signage that can be seen from outside the venue, and introducing Responsible Gambling Officers in venues with more than 20 gaming machine entitlements.
The six-hour shut down period does not apply to casino gaming.
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