POKIES LINE IN THE SAND

TOURISM Minister Kate Jones is preparing the ground for what she calls a global tourism hub – a second casino and resort development – on the Gold Coast.

In doing so, she says she is determined to ensure the integrity of the ceiling that has been imposed on the number of poker machine licences for the Gold Coast.

Ms Jones is also adamant there will be extensive community consultation before a decision is made. As she writes in the Bulletin today, it is important the Government works with the Coast community “to get this right from the start’’.

Her stand on maintaining the limit on slot machine numbers is worthy of praise. It is already more than generous and the city does not need any more.

There is some way to go before any decisions are made. What is obvious though is that major players in the US are interested in proposed integrated resort developments on the Gold Coast and in Cairns. It is possible major operators in Macau will also be circling.

But Ms Jones’s handling of the matter and comments this week have served to raise many more questions than have been answered.

Gaming industry experts say another casino could need anything up to 2500 pokies to generate the 30-40 per cent of its revenue that might be expected.

Ms Jones suggests however that the industry is heading down a new path, with fewer machines required as casino/resort developments concentrate more on high quality entertainment, accommodation, recreation facilities and wining and dining.

But if such a large number of machines are in fact needed, and given the limit that has been set, how would a new major player source its poker machine licences?

Can pubs and clubs, which may have “banked’’ some in anticipation of the day when a big casino operator strolls through the door with a fistful of money, simply sell without government approval? That is a grey area. And can the ceiling limit be challenged in court?

If small clubs and pubs are convinced to sell the licences they have for a handful of machines they have in their back bars, or agree to be taken over altogether, will the Gold Coast see the slow demise of the local club that provides a social hub for families, or for pensioners and others craving company? Those battlers are not going to travel across the city to rub shoulders with well-heeled casino patrons.

The pluses and minuses in the pokies equation are light years apart. There are major benefits in the attraction that gaming has for tourists and in the money generated for the local economy, including thousands of jobs. The State Government does very well, with punters’ losses delivering $697 million into its coffers last year. The Gambling Community Fund distributed $54 million to worthy causes.

But there is a dark side, with losses run up by gambling addicts causing misery.

With an estimated $1 million being pumped each day into the Gold Coast’s pokies – and that does not take into account the machines at The Star casino – the already generous ceiling on machine numbers must stick fast. The Bulletin will be closely monitoring that ceiling. It is the line in the sand for the Gold Coast.