This week the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal put 30 poker machines located at Oscar’s Hotel and Cafe Bar on hold. The venue’s pokie permit was challenged by local gambling researchers and, until a consensus is reached, the hotel will be without pokies. In September 2012, Ballarat City Council agreed to allow Oscar’s Hotel to install 30 poker machines.

At the time, the poker machines were not believed to violate any local gambling laws. However, gambling researchers John McDonald and Deborah Greenslade have raised an important issue about the games. In Ballarat, poker machines are not permitted in strip malls. McDonald and Greenslade state that Oscar’s hotel is located in such an area, and the pokies should not be allowed to operate.

Although the researchers have a strong case, they will be Oscar’s Hotel will still have its case heard by the VCAT. “We always maintained that Oscar’s is located in a strip shop centre and is therefore a prohibited location for poker machines,” Mr McDonald said. “This is consistent with the advice the council provided to the RSL in 2011 when they were exploring the option of moving their branch and poker machines to Oscars.”

While deliberation takes place, the pokies will be put on hold. This means that they will be inaccessible to the public, and players cannot wager on these pokies. This is just one of several pokie cases currently being debated in Ballarat. At the moment, city councillors and local residents are facing off over the plan to introduce pokies into the Central Business District.

While councillors believe that it is benefit to concentrate pokies away from residential areas, local residents believe that the CBD is a more central location that will attract more problem gamblers over time.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.