The ACT — Overview
The Australian Capital Territory is a small, high-income jurisdiction of approximately 470,000 people, home to the federal public service and a university-heavy population. It has a clubs-only EGM model — pokies are only available in registered clubs, not hotels — and a casino, Casino Canberra, that operates under a licence condition prohibiting it from installing poker machines. These features are sometimes cited as evidence of progressive gambling policy.
The data tells a more complicated story. Despite consistently reducing machine numbers over the past decade — from around 5,000 in 2016 toward a target of 3,500 by 2025 — EGM losses have continued to rise, reaching $190.6 million in 2024–25, up from $186.5 million the year before, even as nearly 200 machines were removed. Recorded gambling harm incidents jumped 47% in the same year. Just 1.4% of ACT gamblers account for 45.5% of all money lost.
This pattern — fewer machines, same or higher losses, rising harm indicators — directly challenges the theory that machine number reduction alone is sufficient harm minimisation policy. It is a finding that has been documented by researchers at the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods and cited in national gambling policy debates as a caution against treating machine caps as a complete solution.
📊 The ACT Reform Paradox
The ACT has reduced EGM numbers by over 1,400 machines since 2016 — one of the most sustained machine reduction programs in Australian history. Yet the money lost to those machines keeps rising. The explanation lies in intensification: as machine numbers fall, remaining gamblers — particularly problem gamblers — play the surviving machines harder. Without limits on stakes, spend-per-machine rises to offset the reduction in machine count.
As Kate Seselja of the Canberra Gaming Reform Alliance noted: "The machines did not have safety mechanisms, such as loss and time limits, in place to identify and monitor gambling harm incidents." This is why the ACT Government has committed to mandatory account-based cashless gaming — a measure that would address machine intensity, not just machine numbers.
The ACT's Clubs-Only EGM Model
The ACT is the only Australian jurisdiction outside Western Australia that has ever maintained a meaningful structural restriction on EGM placement — though unlike WA, the ACT allows machines in clubs, just not hotels. This distinction is the result of an arrangement made when Casino Canberra was licensed in 1992: the casino agreed not to have poker machines, and in return, hotels agreed not to have them either. Clubs — registered community organisations — retained their machines.
The arrangement is not underpinned by any clear evidence-based rationale for why clubs should have machines but hotels should not. It has been described by researchers and some policymakers as essentially a commercial trade-off rather than a harm minimisation policy. Casino Canberra has periodically sought to have the restriction removed, arguing it places the casino at a competitive disadvantage. Those attempts have consistently failed — partly because clubs, which have their own commercial interest in maintaining the casino's disadvantage, lobby against any change.
EGM Data and Machine Numbers
| Year | EGMs (approx.) | Annual EGM Losses | Change in machines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | ~5,000 | ~$155M | Baseline | ACT–Greens agreement commits to reduction |
| 2019 | ~4,600 | ~$165M | –400 | Machines declining; losses growing |
| 2020–21 | ~4,300 | ~$145M | –300 | COVID-19 closure period depresses figures |
| 2023–24 | ~3,700 | $186.5M | –600 from peak | Losses at record level despite fewer machines |
| 2024–25 | ~3,500 | $190.6M | ~–200 (this year) | Record losses; harm incidents +47%; target met on machines |
| Target: 2025 | ~3,500 | N/A | Target reached | 10th parliamentary agreement target — on track per ACT Government |
| Target: 2045 | ~1,000 | N/A | Long-term target | ACT Gaming Reform Minister Marisa Paterson's stated 20-year target |
Sources: ANU CSRM gambling reform analysis 2024; Canberra Times / ACT GRC Annual Report 2024–25.
ACT EGM machine numbers 2016–2025. Steady decline — but losses continue to rise.
ACT EGM losses (AUD millions) 2016–2024–25. Record despite machine reduction.
Casino Canberra — No Poker Machines
Casino Canberra
Braddon, Canberra ACT · Opened 1992 · Owned by Aquis Entertainment (ASX: AQS)
Casino Canberra is unique in the Australian casino landscape: it is the only licensed casino that has never been permitted to operate electronic gaming machines. This restriction stems from the original 1992 licence agreement that established the clubs-only EGM model in the ACT — the casino agreed not to have pokies, and in exchange, hotels were excluded from the machine market.
The casino has tried unsuccessfully on multiple occasions to have this restriction lifted. In 2013, it offered to hand back land and pay upfront fees in exchange for licences for 200 machines. In 2016, legislative amendments to allow casino EGMs were moved in the Legislative Assembly on two separate occasions — both failed, largely due to opposition from the clubs sector which did not want the competition.
Casino Canberra offers table games — baccarat, blackjack, roulette, poker variants — but the absence of pokies means it generates far less revenue than a comparably-sized casino would in any other jurisdiction. The casino was acquired by Aquis Entertainment in 2014 and has explored various expansion proposals, including a significant redevelopment of the Braddon site, though these have not proceeded at the scale originally proposed.
A notable side effect of the ACT's pub poker ban: players wishing to play live poker in Canberra must either visit the Casino Canberra poker room or travel to clubs. The ACT is the only jurisdiction where pub poker is banned — a restriction linked directly to the casino's licence arrangement — which researchers have observed may channel poker players into venues with pokies alongside the tables.
ACT Gambling by Product
| Product | Annual Losses (est.) | Market Share | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| EGMs (Clubs only) | $190.6M (2024–25) | ~54% | Record losses despite machine reduction; clubs-only; hotels excluded |
| Casino (table games only) | ~$50–70M | ~15–20% | Casino Canberra; no EGMs by licence condition; table-only revenue |
| Lotteries | ~$50M | ~14% | The Lottery Corporation; high effective tax rate |
| Wagering (Racing + Sports) | ~$40M | ~11% | 15% POCT rate; growing online channel |
| Keno | ~$10M | ~3% | Club-based; venue Keno only |
| Total | ~$360–400M | 100% | ~$1,100+ per adult in EGM losses — among highest per-capita in Australia |
Sources: Canberra Times / ACT GRC Annual Report 2024–25; QGSO 40th Edition. Casino and wagering figures estimated from available data.
Gambling Harm in the ACT
The ACT Gambling and Racing Commission's 2024–25 annual report published data that advocates described as a wake-up call. Even as the machine reduction program continued to hit its numerical targets, every harm indicator moved in the wrong direction.
The 2024 ACT Gambling Survey (n=10,000, CQUniversity) found that while EGM participation had declined significantly — from 73% in a prior period to 53% in 2024 — online gambling had surged by 27%. The survey confirmed the intensification dynamic: fewer Canberrans are gambling, but those who do gamble on EGMs are spending more per session, and problem gamblers are accounting for a growing share of total losses.
Research by ANU's Centre for Social Research and Methods explicitly confirmed this pattern for the 2016–2024 period: "Despite the reduction in EGM numbers in the territory, there is no evidence suggesting that there has been a reduction in gambling harm." Problem gambling prevalence, measured by the PGSI, "showed no substantial reduction and even increased by 2019." The research was published in 2024 and remains the most current independent assessment of ACT reform effectiveness.
The ACT Reform Agenda — Machine Caps and Cashless Gaming
The ACT Government, led by Labor with Greens support, has maintained a consistent commitment to machine reduction since 2016. The reform agenda has been built around successive parliamentary agreements between Labor and the Greens, each committing to reduce EGM numbers further.
EGM Reduction from ~5,000 to 4,000 by 2020
The ACT Labor–Greens 9th parliamentary agreement included a commitment to reduce EGM authorisations from approximately 5,000 to 4,000 by 2020. The target was reached on time. It represented the first structural cap reduction in ACT history backed by a specific numerical commitment and a timeline.
EGM Reduction from 4,000 to 3,500 by July 2025
A further reduction target of 3,500 by 1 July 2025 was set. The ACT Government confirmed this target was on track as of the 2024–25 reporting period. The Gaming Machine (Compulsory Surrender) Amendment Bill 2024 allows the government to force venues to surrender EGM licences from May 2025 — a "stick" approach alongside the "carrot" of paying venues $20,000 to become pokie-free.
Mandatory Account-Based Cashless Gaming Committed
Following the 2024–25 data showing rising losses and +47% harm incidents, ACT Gaming Reform Minister Marisa Paterson committed to implementing mandatory account-based cashless gaming. This would require all EGM players to use an identity-linked account, enabling pre-commitment limits and real-time harm monitoring — addressing the intensity problem that machine reduction alone cannot solve.
Target of 1,000 EGMs
Minister Paterson publicly committed to a 20-year target of reducing ACT EGMs to 1,000 — a 70% reduction from the 2024–25 level. This is an aspirational rather than legislated target, and would require sustained political commitment across multiple governments. Critics note that without addressing machine design and stake limits, even 1,000 highly intensive machines could still generate substantial harm.
Gambling Regulation in the ACT
The ACT's gambling regulatory framework is administered by the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission (GRC), a statutory authority that regulates gaming machines, casino operations, wagering, lotteries and keno. The GRC publishes annual reports that include gambling harm incident data, compliance inspection results and machine statistics — providing one of the more transparent small-jurisdiction regulatory datasets in Australia.
The 2024–25 annual report's disclosure that 19 of 37 inspected venues were found non-compliant with the Community Contributions Compliance Program was notable. The Community Contributions program requires clubs holding EGM authorisations to return a proportion of gaming revenue to community benefit activities — it is the mechanism underpinning the clubs sector's argument that pokies fund community services. Finding over half of inspected venues non-compliant with the program's requirements directly challenges that argument.
On wagering, the ACT applies a 15% Point of Consumption Tax on net wagering revenue exceeding $150,000 per year from ACT residents — consistent with the majority of other states. The ACT's wagering market is proportionately small given its population.
Gambling Support in the ACT
Gambling support in the ACT is provided primarily through the Gambling and Racing Commission's funded harm minimisation program and through national services. The ACT's small population means there is a single local counselling provider rather than the network available in larger states.
- Gambling Help ACT: Free counselling and support for ACT residents — available online and by phone
- National Helpline: 1800 858 858 (24/7, free)
- BetStop: betstop.gov.au — national self-exclusion covering all licensed online bookmakers
- The ACT GRC's gambling harm minimisation program engages with licensed venues to monitor and report harm incidents, though the 2024–25 47% increase in reported incidents suggests either rising actual harm or improved reporting — likely both
