Over the course of the past month, Australian politicians have showed their support for a safer gambling environment. By passing poker machine as legislation, the Gillard government has demonstrated its willingness to intervene when gambling addiction becomes a dangerous issue for local residents.

However, this dedication has not stopped Crown Casinos from moving forward with a significant gambling expansion plan. 500 new poker machines and gambling tables have been approved for installation at the Burswood Entertainment Complex, which houses a popular Crown Casinos location. With the new games, the casino’s total number of pokies will be 2500 and the total number of table games will amount of 300.

While significant, the expansion does not come without good reason. Crown Towers, a new 6-star hotel, is being built at the Burswood Casino Complex. With 500 rooms to accommodate casino goers, the gambling venue will have to increase its supply to meet the potential demand. Crown Towers has been touted as the next big thing in Australia’s hospitality and tourism industry.

Developers are confident that it will be rated the best hotel in the country, detracting business from other casinos across Australia. While it seems only fair that a casino with more patrons would have more poker machines and gaming tables, the expansion comes at an inopportune time with regards to responsible gambling efforts.

While local politicians are attempting to curb problem gambling rates across Australia, the introduction of 500 new pokies could be seen as a step backwards. Crown Casinos does not believe that it has jeopardized the country’s responsible gambling initiatives, however. The casino operator spent a great deal of time and effort to consider the potential effects of increasing the number of games at the casino.

Since Perth has a much lower rate of problem gambling than other states across the country, Crown Casinos felt that the expansion would not cause harm to local residents. However, whether the games will comply with pokie reform regulation remains to be seen.

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.