New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has ruled out allowing Crown Resorts to add “pokies” slot machines at its land-based casino in Sydney.
Crown executives have been lobbying MPs to allow the operator to introduce machines at the venue. Its current operating license in the Australian state does not permit it to offer this type of gambling at the casino.
Any such move would have required legislative change in NSW. However, Minns said that his government would not be making any such change.
“I want to make it clear that the government is not going to move legislation to allow poker machines at Crown Casino,” Minns said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“This is a legislative imposition that has been put in place in the state for over a decade. It would require a bill, presumably from the government, to knock over that restriction. I am not going to do that.”
Crown Wanted 500 Machines at Casino
The operator is said to have approached several MPs over the matter. It also held talks with NSW Gaming Minister David Harris.
Two MPs involved in the preliminary discussions shed some light on its plans. Crown hoped to add 500 cashless pokies machines at the casino while removing 500 machines from venues elsewhere in NSW.
Crown said that cashless machines would enhance player protection efforts, adding that the technology requires players to set a spending limit before playing.
Cashless machines are not yet active in NSW. The state recently ran a trial, but uptake among players in the state was low. However, the technology has proved successful in Victoria.
Current gaming options available at Crown Sydney include table games such as blackjack, roulette and several poker variants.
