A landmark report on gambling addiction which recommended banning a controversial poker machine feature was sat on by the New South Wales government for almost two years, despite one department urging for it to be released “as soon as possible”.



On Wednesday Fairfax Media reported that the former NSW deputy premier and gaming minister Troy Grant ignored advice to release the report, which recommended banning “losses disguised as wins” in poker machines.

The losses disguised as wins feature refers to the use of flashing lights and celebratory music, even when players make a net loss on a machine. For example, when a player bets $1 and “wins” 75c. Experts say it helps aggravate gambling addiction, and it is the subject of an ongoing federal court battle involving James Packer’s Crown casino company.

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The case alleges that pokies are deliberately designed to deceive people about their prospects of winning. It was filed by Maurice Blackburn lawyers on behalf of former poker machine addict Shonica Guy, against casino giant Crown Melbourne and pokies manufacturer Aristocrat Technologies.

A verdict in the case is expected next year.

But documents obtained by Fairfax reportedly show the minister did not take the advice of a May 2016 briefing note which recommended he release the report while the case was ongoing. The briefing noted stated the report “should be published as soon as possible to ensure that it is still current when it is released”.

“The research provides new and important information about the harms related to gambling products,” it reportedly says. “This will be valuable to all gambling stakeholders in Australia. It will ensure that any new initiatives are informed by the latest evidence.”

The documents also reportedly show that the report’s author, University of Sydney gambling researcher Alex Blaszczynski, “expressed frustration” and raised concerns about the delay, including “the lack of updates or rationale provided by the government to date as to the significant delays in releasing this research report”.

Grant, who was dumped as deputy premier and gaming minister in November last year, did not release the report. His successor, Paul Toole, released the report in October this year.

When asked about the delay, a spokesman for Toole said the report’s recommendations needed be to “clarified and further considered by Liquor & Gaming NSW” before its release.

“It was important the government gave due regard to these issues as part of an extensive process of evaluation,” he said. “There was also a need to draft a formal government response document and for both the report and response document to be considered by cabinet. Once this had all occurred, the report was released without delay.”