The Chief Executive Officer of ClubsNSW, Josh Landis, was sacked on Tuesday just a day after accusing NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet of being motivated to introduce mandatory cashless gaming technology to the state’s poker machines by his Catholic faith.
In a statement issued early Tuesday afternoon, the Board of ClubsNSW said it had “met today to discuss the comments made by CEO Josh Landis yesterday. After careful consideration, the Board has made the decision to end Mr Landis’ employment with ClubsNSW with immediate effect.
“The Board acknowledges Josh Landis’ exemplary service to the industry over more than 15 years through some very difficult times. We genuinely wish him all the best on his future endeavours.”
Landis, a vocal opponent of mandatory cashless gaming, had told a journalist during a Monday interview that Perrottet did not fully understand the issue at hand and had “acted from his conservative Catholic gut rather than based on evidence.”
He later issued an apology for his comments, stating, “I want to make it clear that in answering the question I misspoke and should not have referred to the Premier’s faith. This was not a premeditated comment or an intentional attack on the Premier personally, rather it was a poor attempt to explain that there is a lack of evidence for the policy and the Premier is a moral person who intrinsically wants to help those who are causing themselves harm.
“I contacted the Premier earlier today to apologise personally. I would like to take this opportunity to unreservedly apologise publicly for any offence caused.”
That apology was only hours before Landis was relieved of his duties.
The introduction of a mandatory cashless gaming card and improved data collection mechanisms were among eight recommendations announced by the NSW Crime Commission (NSWCC) last month following a multi-agency investigation which found that billions of dollars of dirty money is being funnelled through the state’s pubs and clubs each year.
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