Greens MP Cate Faehrmann introduced a bill proposing that poker machines in New South Wales pubs and clubs close from midnight to 10am each day, excluding The Star Sydney. The proposal would extend the existing minimum six-hour shutdown; the source reports disagreement within the NSW Coalition over whether to support it.
The bill would change permitted operating hours for poker machines at NSW pubs and clubs.
The day’s most important stories, free. One email a day.
The ACT government introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly on 20 October proposing account-based access to poker machines in Canberra, reportedly. The proposal would require identity checks and player-set loss limits, prohibit ATMs at gaming machine venues and reduce the territory’s machine total to 1,000 by 2045.
Tasmania recorded $18.1m in poker machine losses across 91 venues in July, citing Liquor and Gaming Commission figures. The Legislative Council is beginning an inquiry into the government’s January decision to abandon a mandatory cashless gaming card with preset loss limits. The government defended its replacement harm reduction measures.
iGamingToday reported that Tasmania’s 2025–26 poker machine losses reached $208.27m, increasing 6.9% year-on-year. Treasury figures put the total above all previous years in the published monthly series.
Research commissioned by the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund found a small, statistically significant association between rising poker machine numbers and family and domestic violence incidents in New South Wales from 2017 to 2023. Advocacy groups have cited the study in calls for reform, while federal online gambling advertising proposals proceed separately from state-regulated poker machine policy.
Victoria’s Gambling and Casino Control Commission fined nine venue operators for allowing poker machine play outside permitted hours on Good Friday and ANZAC Day in 2025. The fines ranged from AUD 3,000 to AUD 15,000; the commission also issued censure warnings to three other venues.