A politician from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) proposed legislation last week. The legislation in question could possibly hold great opportunities for Casino Canberra. Reason being is that should the legislation be passed; Casino Canberra will be able to operate around 200 pokies machines along with 60 fully-automated table games stations.
Pokies Rights for Casino Canberra
Australian Labour Party member, Gordon Ramsay, of the ACT Legislative Assembly was the one who came up with this proposal. With this proposal, he hopes to break the cycle of local clubs within the federal district, having control over the delivery of pokies. Ramsay suspects that the proposal will, of course, be met by opposition from gambling activists and Green’s political party members.
Furthermore, it is stated within this proposal that Australian gamblers at Casino Canberra need to state how much money they would be prepared to lose over a period of 24 hours. This particular condition, however, is not applied to surrounding clubs within the area.
More so, it was reported to the Canberra Times that Casino Canberra pokies stakes would have a limit of AU$5 per spin. This figure is found to be half of the amount that is accepted at other local casinos. However, the proposition is yet to make mention of the tax rates and if these are perhaps different than those of other local operators.
Proposed Legislation for Casino Canberra
Casino Canberra was bought by Aquis Canberra Holdings Proprietary Limited, towards the end of 2014. It is essential that the casino forfeits one in every three of the pokies machines that it purchases. Unlike other local clubs that are only required to forfeit one in four. Ultimately, what this means is that Casino Canberra would need to attain 390 pokies costing an excess of AU$4.7 million, just so that they can operate 200 machines.
Aquis Canberra Holdings (Australia) Proprietary Limited is controlled by businessman Tony Fung, based in Hong Kong. The legislation in question would further oblige Aquis to purchase a minimum of half of the 390 pokies for Casino Canberra from clubs or hotels that make less than approximately AU$3.1 million per annum from the pokies machines.
Pending approval from the government for a AU$236 million redevelopment, is being awaited on by Casino Canberra. This redevelopment will see the casino add restaurants, shops and hotels to its list of offerings. However, Andrew Barr, the Chief Minister at ACT made a statement last year that only once the deal is concluded will the property allow slots.