Pokies by the hundred

CASEY may have a maximum of 680 additional gaming machines next year due to a recent change in the Gambling Regulation Act.
Casey currently has 899 gaming machines, but pokies operators are entitled to bid for the additional machines, according to Liberal MLC for South Eastern Metropolitan Region, Inga Peulich.
The changes allowed for the possibility of 1579 entitlements to be available for purchase at auction in Casey based on 10 machines per 10,000 adults, she said.
Though Ms Peulich said venue operators in Casey would bid for machine entitlements early next year, City of Casey Planning Manager Duncan Turner said this was not necessarily the case.
He said council would not bid for gaming machines; rather, applicants would lodge applications for gaming machines with the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation.
And, he said, council was unsure whether any private operators would be lodging applications for additional gaming machines in the municipality in the coming year and whether they would be successful.
“When an application is made that affects the City of Casey, council officers undertake an assessment against an assortment of social and economic indicators to determine whether council should object to the application or not,” he said.
“Gaming is a lawful recreational activity under state law and is regulated by both gaming licences and planning permits.”