Currently, Crown Resorts is prohibited from having poker machines under its operating license with the NSW government, and any change to this status would necessitate legislative action.

An audit by the NSW auditor-general revealed that at the current rate, it would take 55 years for NSW to reduce its poker machine numbers to the national average, indicating a significant lack of targets for reducing gambling harm.

Crown Resorts has proposed the introduction of 500 cashless poker machines at its Barangaroo site, suggesting that an equal number of cash poker machines would be removed from other venues in NSW.

These proposed cashless poker machines would require players to pre-commit to spending limits before engaging in play, although a previous government trial on cashless gambling did not yield significant data due to low participation rates.

In the 2023-24 period, NSW had a staggering 87,749 poker machines spread across 2,000 venues, generating a profit of $8.4 billion, which represents the highest measure of patron loss and accounts for half of Australia's total machines.

The Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority, responsible for overseeing poker machine regulations in NSW, operates with an annual budget of $4.9 million.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has firmly stated that the government will not amend laws to permit Crown Resorts to operate poker machines at its Sydney casino.

Minns emphasized, 'I want to make it clear that the government is not going to move legislation to allow poker machines at Crown Casino,' thereby reinforcing the existing legal restrictions.