The Tasmanian government has expressed interest in expanding its casino gambling market. Home to two casinos already, Tasmania may house four in total as government officials explore the possibilities of opening up new gambling venues across the state.  This would help to generate more tourism to Tasmanian and help to boost the local economy by creating new jobs for local residents.

Should new casinos open up in Tasmania, this would be bad news for Federal Group, which operates the state’s two casinos, Wrest Point and Country Club. The company has exclusivity in the Tasmanian gambling market, and is the only operator licensed to offer casino games, keno and pokies.

The deal will expire in 2023; rather than extending the agreement, government officials believe that add new casinos to compete with Federal Group’s properties would be best for the state. Federal Group has anticipated the additional of new casinos, and has attempted to bargain with the government.

The operator has promised to spend $100 million in building upgrades that would benefit the local tourism and entertainment markets. However, the Tasmanian government seems to be very committed to opening up new casinos in the state.

“The government’s position is that limited new high roller, non-residential casino licenses should be available in Tasmania in addition to the Federal Group’s two casinos,” says Peter Gutwein, Treasurer for Tasmania. It is likely that one of the casinos to receive a license will be the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), which was proposed by the venue’s owner David Walsh.

He wants to open up a casino in the museum that will appeal to art-loving high-rollers. He has proposed up to 12 gambling tables, targeting wealthy players from around the world. No pokies will be included on site. There is no word yet on additional proposals for casinos in Tasmania. It will be exciting to see which operators will express interest in opening up gaming venues in the state.

Echo Entertainment, SkyCity and Crown Resorts are all likely candidates but no one has come forward yet. We will certainly keep you updated as this story develops.

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.