This week, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) granted the Grandview Hotel the right to install 50 new pokies in the venue. The proposal for the new pokies was met with a great deal of criticism from residents, so the VCAT came up with an ingenious compromise, which will see the venue owner donate $120 000 for problem gambling resources.

Profits from the new poker machines will be used to fund a $2.9 million renovation for the hotel. Proprietor Daniel El Fahkri is pleased with the VCAT’s decision because it will allow him to expand his hotel to benefit the community and appeal to more tourists. The deal was not highly favoured by the VCAT when it was first presented last year. 34 objections were made, and several local politicians were against the proposal.

As such, El Fahkri decided to sugar-coat the proposal to make it more palatable. The hotel already donates $20 000 to community groups, and the proprietor promised the VCAT that he would offer up an additional $100 000 donation every year. While the hotel owner is pleased with the result, local residents are still not impressed.

They are concerned that adding new pokies will present vulnerable individuals with more opportunities to gamble. "The decision is extremely disappointing especially for local traders and the residents of nearby boarding houses who are especially vulnerable to harm from pokies," resident Susan Rennie told the Herald Sun.

The compromise aims to benefit the community in the long run, providing problem gambling services with the ability to treat more patients and offer more support to their loved ones. However, residents do not feel like this is enough to offset the potential damage that could be done by the new pokies at the Grandview Hotel. The new pokies will be installed at the end of next year.

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.