Across Australia, the casino industry is booming. Casino operators around the country are seeking impressive growth thanks to an influx of international tourists, and Canberra lawmakers would like to open up a new opportunity in the local gambling market.

A report in The Age notes that Canberra’s joint standing committee into Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories published a report that recommended reopening the Christmas Island Casino. This is the second time this year that the idea has been suggested, as Gordon Thomson – shire president of Christmas Island – requested a casino license in May.

"Work to facilitate the reopening of the casino on Christmas Island is long overdue and should commence immediately,” the committee’s report reads. “What is required is the political will to make this happen”. Currently, Christmas Island depends on revenue from phosphate mining. The region is also dependent on the activities of its immigration detention facilities.

There has been a slowdown in both areas, so Christmas Island is in need of a new way to support the local economy – and, a casino seems to be a plausible solution. "Tourism really is the only hope for a replacement industry of any sort to fill the long overdue downturn that was always going to be experienced when the boats stopped or immigration activity decreased," says Jon Stanhope, Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories.

The Christmas Island Hotel and Resort was originally opened in 1993. The casino was relatively successful but closed down in 1998 due to several Asian airlines cancelling their services to the island and several other management issues. In 2004, the local government prohibited casinos from operating at Christmas Island and the other Indian Ocean Territories.

There is no word yet on whether or not local authorities will allow for a casino to reopen on the island. It would certainly help to solve the country’s economic problems, but there are still some doubts as to whether or not a Christmas Island casino would be more profitable this time around – especially with so much competition from casino operators across Australia.

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.