Last year, a new lockout law was introduced in Sydney’s CBD Entertainment Precinct, which would lock new patrons out of venues past 1:30am and ensure that last drinks were served at 3am. It was applied to all venues in the area except The Star Casino – and the casino is seeing more crime as a result. Throughout the 2013/14 financial year, The Star has seen a generous increase in profits worth $100 million.
As the only venue that can accept patrons after 1:30, it was no surprise that The Star would see more visitors from across the CBD. From a financial perspective, this was seen as a huge win – but the safety of the club has suffered somewhat. According to an In The Mix report, assaults at The Star have nearly doubled. In 2013, police were called to the casino 465 times and 43 assaults were recorded.
One year later, police were called to the casino 732 times and 76 assaults were recorded at the venue. The correlation certainly seems to align with the lockout, and begs the question: should the lockout be extended to The Star? Overall, the lockout laws have resulted in a 40% drop in alcohol-related assaults. As such, we could expect a similar drop if a lockout were introduced at The Star Casino.
However, the government is having enough trouble with convincing local club owners that the existing lockout laws are beneficial. Over the course of the last year, 42 venues in the area have shut down due to the new laws and many have seen a huge decrease in business. "Of course, crime has been reduced; there is no one here, it is completely dead," nightclub owner Ron Creevey, said in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.
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