New South Wales’ (NSW) Labor Government has moved to close loopholes that allowed venues to operate outside state-mandated shutdown periods.
Under the NSW Gaming Machines Act 2001, venues are required to shut down gaming machines, known as pokies, between 4am and 10am.
However, over 670 venues had been allowed to operate during these hours by applying for one of three exemptions, which were a three-hour shutdown on weekends and public holidays for venues in tourism and entertainment areas, a three-hour shutdown for venues experiencing financial hardship, and shutdown variations for venues with a history of opening early.
From 31 March 2026, pubs and clubs will not be able to use these exemptions to circumvent the laws, after the NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing, David Harris, described them as “no longer fit for purpose”.
He said: “Following months of review, it is clear the 20-year-old variations enabling more than 670 clubs and pubs with gaming machines to operate outside of the mandated hours were no longer fit for purpose.
“So I have acted to revoke these variations and update the application process, in a phased way, so that venues can still make their case to vary their hours.”
State-funded research showed that pokies players were significantly more likely to experience harm after midnight.
However, the same research also revealed that many venues were operating under exemptions that no longer met the criteria, and that their status had not been reviewed since the exemptions were granted.
Notably, between June and November 2023, three club venues with a hardship variation were ranked in the top ten for net gaming machine profit.
The report described the original hardship variation as “no longer valid or relevant” and found the “early opener” criteria to be “overly inclusive”.
Clubs and pubs that believe they have a strong case for the exemptions to remain will be able to appeal the decision before 31 March, but must meet tougher conditions that have yet to be announced by the state’s independent regulator.