10/07/21 Australia: Wyndham Council bans pokies near social housing The council of Wyndham, in the state of Victoria, has issued a new policy to restrict how closely pokies venues can be established to social housing.
09/07/21 GWC prioritised Crown Perth’s financial interests, inquiry hears The Royal Commission into Crown Perth has heard that Western Australia’s Gaming and Wagering Commission (GWC) put Crown Perth’s financial interest before public interest.
09/06/21 WA authorities question differences between pokies and EGMs The Perth Casino Royal Commission has started to question whether there is any difference between pokies and electronic gaming machines (EGMs) as the former are banned in WA but EGMs are allowed in Crown Perth.
08/19/21 Australia: NSW to analyse impact of 2018 gaming machine reforms Authorities in New South Wales have announced they are seeking community feedback on the impact of the 2018 reforms that limited the number of gaming machines in the state.
07/24/21 New Zealand: concerns casinos will become “pokies dens” Dunedin’s Grand Casino operator wants to remove a mandatory requirement to have at least one gaming table open and increase the number of slots instead.
07/22/21 Problem Gambling Foundation concerned over New Zealand pokie profits The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) revealed poker machine operators in South Auckland generated NZ$21m in profits in the first quarter of the year.
07/07/21 New Zealand: pokie operators allowed to break government regulations Reports claim that New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) let slot machine operators break government regulations for 17 years.
07/03/21 New Zealand: criticism of plan to make pubs’ pokies turnover public The Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand (GMANZ) argues that pub-by-pub statistics on pokie machine turnover would be “a virtual shopping list for armed robbers.”
07/01/21 New Zealand district aims to reduce number of slot machines Mackenzie Council has approved a proposal to reduce the number of slot machines in the district.
05/28/21 Asian gamblers prefer electronic table games after casino reopenings During the Singapore Summit, experts said there had been an increase in the use of electronic table games compared to before the Covid-19 pandemic.
05/25/21 Australia: NSW club to start trial of cashless slot machines The New Lambton club will be the first venue to test cashless slot machines in New South Wales, Australia.
04/29/21 Japan: Pachinko parlours reject government lockdown request Pachinko parlours have been asked to close due to a fourth wave of Covid-19 cases in Japan, but it seems the industry is not willing to close shop.
04/27/21 Japan: Pachinko parlours suspend business until May 11 Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures have ordered the suspension of Pachinko parlours until at least May 11 due to a rise in Covid-19 cases.
04/22/21 Japan: the number of pachinko parlours continues to fall Japan saw more than 100 pachinko parlours close in March as the industry continues to suffer the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
04/17/21 Japan’s pachinko revenues reach 75% of pre-pandemic levels Although sales in the sector seem to be recovering, pachinko revenues could fall again if Japan suffers a new wave of Covid-19 cases.
