Each year, Australians put 125 billion dollars through the pokies - and over half of that is in NSW alone. The state has more poker machines than any jurisdiction in the world outside Nevada. 

This billion-dollar gambling industry will be in the spotlight when New South Wales goes to the polls this weekend.

So, how didNSW become the pokies capital of Australia? And will this election mark a turning point in the debate around poker machines?

Today, reporter Angus Thomson travels to the border of NSW and Victoria, where the legacy of decades of loose regulation of gambling machines is still being felt today.

Each year, Australians put 125 billion dollars through the pokies - and over half of that is in NSW alone. The state has more poker machines than any jurisdiction in the world outside Nevada. 
This billion-dollar gambling industry will be in the spotlight when New South Wales goes to the polls this weekend.
So, how did NSW become the pokies capital of Australia? And will this election mark a turning point in the debate around poker machines?
Today, reporter Angus Thomson travels to the border of NSW and Victoria, where the legacy of decades of loose regulation of gambling machines is still being felt today.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition (formerly Please Explain) brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

The Morning Edition brings you the story behind the story with the best journalists in Australia. Join host Samantha Selinger-Morris from the newsrooms of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, weekdays from 5am.

Advertisement