Sydney's Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne is proposing the gutting of the 88,000 poker machines in NSW by half in the next decade.
The most populous state has the most number of gaming machines in the world behind Nevada in the US, which is famously home to Las Vegas.
The Labor stalwart is partnering up with unions, churches and the social services sector to put his motion on the floor of the upcoming party conference in a bid to drive reform.
"We can't ignore this issue any longer," he told reporters on Tuesday.
"It can't be swept under the rug."
Mr Byrne, who is believed to be Mr Albanese's possible political heir in the federal seat of Grayndler, said the gambling lobby was seeking to overtly influence the NSW government.
"For far too long, the poker machine lobby has held the sort of sway has been able to exert the sort of intimidation that has warped our politics," he said.
"Too often they've been acting like the National Rifle Association in the United States by targeting any person or leader who speaks up to say the poker machine harm is out of control."
The Labor government has been resistant to calls for change, such as installing cashless gaming cards.
That move emerged as a key recommendation from a landmark 2022 NSW Crime Commission report that showed some $95 billion were being laundered by criminals.
But the government maintains it has introduced some necessary reforms, including shutting down all poker machines between 4am and 10am each day of the week.
Harm-minimising gambling remedies became a hotly debated issue in the lead-up to the 2023 state elections, with Labor hammered for being seen as too close to the gaming lobby.
"This is a public health pandemic across our state caused by gambling harm," Wesley Mission head Reverend Stu Cameron said on Tuesday.
"Gambling is ... our cultural blindspot. It's time for us to open our eyes, get on with reform."
The push comes amid reports Gaming Minister David Harris issued a ministerial directive ordering the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority not to prioritise harm-minimisation efforts.
Rev Cameron has written to the minister saying legal advice suggests the alleged directive contradicts the Gaming Act.
Profits hit all-time highs in 2025, with punters losing $9.3 billion as suburbs in south-western Sydney were the worst hit.
The state budget released earlier in June forecasts the annual revenue from all gambling taxes will rise from $3.8 billion in 2025-26 to $4.7 billion by 2029-30.
When pressed on whether the NSW government was too reliant on profits from the gaming sector, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey pushed back.
"People accept that you can't prohibit gambling, so you should tax it."
National Gambling Helpline 1800 858 858
12°C