Echo Entertainment and Crown Casinos are currently battling over the opportunity to expand Brisbane’s gambling market – but residents are not thrilled about the idea of bringing a second major gambling venue into the community. According to a recent poll from JWS research, a significant portion of Brisbane residents are opposed to any new proposals for casinos in the city.
The research was commissioned by Echo Entertainment, which wants to relocate its Treasury Casino to the site of former government buildings on George Street. Crown Casinos, on the other hand, simply wants to build a new casino in the city. If Echo Entertainment’s proposal is rejected, then Crown Casinos would have the ability to build a second casino, and residents are not pleased with this possibility.
According to the research, 34% of Brisbane residents were in favour of the construction of an entertainment venue. They are backing Echo Entertainment’s plan, and their support increases to 77% when they learned that the new development would not include the addition of new poker machines. These findings should deter Crown Casinos, but chief Executive Rowen Craigie is not letting up.
He states that Brisbane has the potential to attract a significant number of high roller tourists, and is making plans to build a casino that is similar to the venue that has just been approved for construction in Sydney. "If Australia is going to compete against Las Vegas and Singapore and Macau, it needs to have multiple, high-quality offerings (casinos), not just one,” Craigie says.
However, that does not seem to be a priority for Brisbane residents. They are more interested in preserving the heritage building in which the Treasury Casino is currently located and preventing an increase in the number of pokie machines in the city. As such, they are not likely to be on board with Crown Casinos’ plan.
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