A plan to roll out facial recognition technology in every pub and club in New South Wales has been criticised by the Greens, who say the “invasive” measure is an attempt to avoid further crackdowns on poker machines.

The Australian Hotels Association NSW and ClubsNSW say they are developing a state-of-the-art system to be rolled out across all clubs and hotels next year to keep people who have self-imposed bans away from poker machines.

Everyone in the gaming area will have their face scanned and the images will be cross-checked with people who have signed up for the self-exclusion system. 

“Technology now allows us to accurately identify self-excluded problem gamblers and then stop them from gambling,” Australian Hotels Association NSW chief executive John Whelan said. 

But NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said “The NSW government has lost its mind if it thinks people want pubs and clubs to have self managed facial recognition tech. This is as terrifying as it is absurd.”

The Greens are also calling for a curfew on gambling machines operating between midnight and midday, $1 bet limits per spin on gambling machines and mandatory player-set time and spending limits for machines and online gambling.

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