NSW Premier Chris Minns has ruled out any possibility of the state government allowing slot machines to be introduced at Crown Sydney.
His comments follow local media reports that Crown had enjoyed constructive talks last week with Gaming Minister David Harris over an exemption to existing agreements which give The Star Sydney a monopoly over the use of poker machines in casinos within the state. Star and Crown are the only two casinos in NSW although there are more than 87,000 machines in play statewide thanks to their proliferation in pubs and clubs.
It is understood that Crown has been hoping to be given the green light to add slots, better known as poker machines in Australia, because it believes it is at a competitive disadvantage given the collapse of the international VIP market it once planned to target.
Nevertheless, Minns told reporters on Friday, “The government is not going to move legislation to allow poker machines at Crown casino. This is a legislative imposition that has been put in place for over a decade and would require a bill, presumably from the government, to knock over that restriction – and I’m not going to do it.”
Star Entertainment Group signed a new 20-year agreement with the NSW Government in June 2020 under which it was to enjoy ongoing exclusivity to operate poker machines in the Sydney casino market in return for paying a flat 29% tax rate on domestic mass gaming revenues. The government has, however, since flagged increases to this tax rate, while Star itself finds itself in a perilous financial position as it awaits the outcome of proceedings launched against it by AML watchdog AUSTRAC.
Poker machines, meanwhile, are again hitting the headlines in NSW following the release last week of a report by the NSW Auditor-General which found that efforts by the state’s regulatory bodies to oversee the industry are not supporting harm minimization outcomes effectively.
Minns said Friday that it would take time to truly determine whether changes it has implemented, including a ban on gaming signage outside pubs and clubs, has made a positive difference.
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