Pokies cut from 5,000 to 4,000
Canberra pubs have asked the ACT government for 200 poker machines, saying if clubs have them and the casino is about to get them, pubs should have more too.
“Realistically there is no difference between a club and a pub—what we offer and what they offer is very similar. We are as much part of the community,” said Australian Hotels Association ACT President Michael Capezio, who wants 200 poker machines distributed among about 20 hotels, with a maximum of 10 per venue.
According to the Canberra Times, clubs are already preparing for a planned cut in poker machines from 5,000 to 4,000 and the government’s recent decision to allow 200 machines at Casino Canberra.
When the casino gets poker machines, Capezio said, it will likely use the revenue to expand and take business away from hotels.
“Our argument is leave the status quo as it is, or if the casino gets machines and is allowed to participate in the trading scheme, so should we,” he said. “When a club can provide a heavily subsidized meal at a loss, then they are a real competitor and they can do that on the back of revenue from gambling.
“Good luck to them, but it’s got to be fair,” he said. “And by giving machines to the casino, it just distorts it even further.”
In 2016 the ACT government voted to license up to 200 pokies for Casino Canberra, but because there’s a cap on machines in the market, the casino will have to purchase them from existing pokies venues.
Capezio has recommended that pubs pay the same community contributions percentage as clubs but into an independent fund, the Times reported.
