{"id":777004668,"date":"2023-04-26T13:39:10","date_gmt":"2023-04-26T16:39:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777004668"},"modified":"2026-04-22T22:31:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T01:31:42","slug":"canberra-clubs-granted-funds-to-reduce-pokie-dependence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/canberra-clubs-granted-funds-to-reduce-pokie-dependence","title":{"rendered":"Canberra clubs granted funds to reduce pokie dependence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Six Canberra clubs have been granted almost AU$1m to fund diversification projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Australia.- The Australian Central Territory government’s gambling diversification fund has distributed almost AU$1m among Canberra clubs<\/strong> to support projects aimed at reducing their reliance on poker machine revenue. The grants will fund various initiatives such as outdoor dining areas, conference centres and indoor golf facilities as part of efforts to reduce the number of poker machines<\/strong> in the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Canberra Times, six clubs will benefit from the funding. The Murrumbidgee Country Club and the Canberra North Bowling and ACT Rugby Union Club will receive the largest grants of AU$200,000. Murrumbidgee Country Club will use the funds to construct an indoor golf facility, while Canberra North Bowling and ACT Rugby Union Club will build a new caf\u00e9 and upgrade their kitchen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Croatia Deakin Soccer Club will redesign and rebuild its main entry and install a lift to improve accessibility using the AU$175,000 it has been awarded. Meanwhile, the Canberra Southern Cross Club has been granted AU$100,000 to develop an outdoor dining area on its Corinna Street frontage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Canberra Labor Club will receive AU$150,000 to develop a conference centre at the Mercure Hotel in Belconnen, and the Eastlake Football Club will use AU$150,000 to install solar panels at three of its clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: <\/strong>AFL receives cut of gambling turnover beyond official sponsorship deals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The gambling diversification fund was established in 2019 <\/strong>and is financed by clubs, which are required to contribute AU$20 per month for their first 99 poker machine licences and AU$30 for each machine above that number. Clubs can apply for funding from the scheme to use for diversifying their revenue streams away from poker machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gaming minister Shane Rattenbury<\/strong> has said that the fund is crucial for the government’s harm reduction policies and supports clubs in transitioning away from poker machine revenue. The government has set a target of reducing the number of poker machines in territory clubs<\/strong> to 3,500 by 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See also: <\/strong>Australian operators divided on calls to ban sponsorship of match-day jerseys<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Six Canberra clubs have been granted almost AU$1m to fund diversification projects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":22974,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"The Australian Central Territory government has allocated nearly AU$1m from its gambling diversification fund to six Canberra clubs. This initiative aims to reduce clubs' reliance on poker machine revenue by funding alternative projects like hospitality upgrades and new facilities. The move aligns with the government's harm reduction policies and a target to decrease poker machine numbers to 3,500 by 2024.","focusai_entities":"Australian Central Territory government, Murrumbidgee Country Club, Canberra North Bowling and ACT Rugby Union Club, Croatia Deakin Soccer Club, Canberra Southern Cross Club, Canberra Labor Club, Eastlake Football Club, Mercure Hotel, Shane Rattenbury","focusai_location":"Australia, Canberra, Belconnen","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.8), operator_casino (1.0), investor_analyst (0.85), supplier_vendor (0.75), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Diversification Fund Impact","query":"What is the projected long-term impact of the ACT's gambling diversification fund on the GGR contribution from poker machines for participating clubs, and how will this affect their overall profitability and operational sustainability?"},{"label":"Regulatory Framework Evolution","query":"How might the ACT's poker machine reduction target and diversification funding model influence similar regulatory frameworks or harm reduction policies in other Australian states or international jurisdictions?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,157],"tags":[23911,233],"class_list":["post-777004668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-business-news","tag-gambling-regulation","tag-sports-betting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777004668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777004668"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777004668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777004684,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777004668\/revisions\/777004684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777004668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777004668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777004668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}