Casinos are a relatively recent development in Australia, with the first opening in 1973. There are now 13 casinos, regulated at the state/territory level. While gambling was initially prohibited and then selectively allowed, governments began endorsing and promoting gambling from WWII onward to stimulate economic growth. Australian casinos now face increasing international competition and the threat of online gambling.

2.  Casinos are a relatively recent addition to the
Australian gambling sector, with the first legal
casino,Wrest Point, being established in the state
ofTasmania in 1973.
 There are 13 casinos in Australia, at least one in
every state and territory, and each state and
territory maintains its own legislation and policies

3.  The period of early colonization from 1778 to 1900,
characterized by selective prohibition of gambling.
 A period of selective legalization from 1900 to the
1940’s
 A period of government endorsement and market
growth fromWorldWar II (1939-1945) to the
1970’s.
 A period of commercialization, competition and
market expansion from the 1970’s to the present (
Australian Institute for Gambling Research,
1999,p.i)

4.  Gaming is defined as (“lawful”) placement of a
wager or bet on the outcome of a future
uncertain event.
 In Australia this includes gaming, racing,
wagering and sport betting.

5.  Government policy on gambling during the early
period reflected class based distinctions.
 Early Australian colonists brought British gambling
practices with them to Australia (O’Hara, 1988)
 Although a prohibitionist approach to gambling
prevailed for the lower classes, gambling among
members in private clubs and betting on horse
racing were tolerated for their contribution to
recreational and social purposes.

6.  The wealthy classes saw card playing, billiards and
betting as matters of reputation, civilization, and
honor rather than gambling “for mere money”.
 Early clubs established themselves as not-for-
profit organisations with social objectives.
 TheAustralian club was established in 1838 in
Sydney to provide accommodation and leisure
facilities for its country and city members.

7.  It was a prestigious club with high fees and
members were leading political, military,
administrative, legal and church figures (William,
1938).
 Poorer classes saw gambling as one limited
recreational pastimes available to them (O’hara,
1988)
 Some convicts were transported to Australia for
gambling crimes, and many used food and clothing
as their gambling stakes (Cumes, 1979).

8.  Popular gambling among the lower classes
included dog, cock and rat fights, cards, dice, two-
up and coin games.
 The popularity of horses gave horse racing a
certain degree of stability(Ohara 1988).
 By mid-1800s racecourses, club facilities and
numerous sweepstakes based on horse racing were
well established (McMillen 1996).
 The first Melbourne cup, Australia’s premier horse
race was run in 1861.

9.  The growing urban middle classes and rising
evangelical Protestantism (Inglis 1985, Ohara 1988)
opposed the growth of gambling.
 The values of emphasizing the industrial work ethic
and distributing idleness saw gambling, especially by
the working classes, as “ a vice which distracted
people away from the virtues of industry”
 Although the moral reform movement was successful
in influencing antigambling legislation, it had less
success in reducing participation, both legal and illegal

10.  All colonies passed laws between 1876 and 1897 to
prohibit gambling in streets, shops and private
houses but prosecutions were few and far
between.
 Government objectives were aimed at trying to
prevent gambling among lower classes while
turning a blind eye to gambling by the upper
classes.

11.  During the first half of 1900s, government policy
on gambling shifted from a class-based
prohibitionist approach to selective
liberalization that clearly linked gambling to
social benefit
 The gaming and betting act 1906 NSW and
similar legislation in other Australian states
placed restrictions on lower-class
entertainment.
 Elite gentlemen’s club still operated.

12.  Illegal betting shops and private bookmakers
continued although more cautiously.
 The introduction of the state-run Golden Casket
lottery in Queensland demonstrated that the state
could be an effective gambling operator, with
revenue used in a morally defensible way to relieve
pressure on funds and provide social benefits.
 It was successful that in 1920 the Queensland
government took over its operation from local
charities and directed all profits to the Motherhood,
Child welfare and Hospital Fund.
 State lotteries were introduced in all states and
territories.

13.  1940s bingo also had gained popularity
 Clubs, hospitals, ambulance organizations and the
Catholic church operated bingo for charitable
causes.
 Regulation on hours of play, number of games and
prize money were introduced to contain its growth.
 Gambling gained new respectability through
association with welfare purposes attracting
middle-class participation, particularly women.
 Lotteries and bingo increased public access to
gambling.

14.  within this context of Increased legitimation and
public exposure to gambling that NSW clubs
became established as major leisure institutions
and gained the first foothold on machine gaming in
Australia.
 Poor facilities in hotels and improved economic
standards fueled public demand for better facilities.
 The nonprofit status, membership requirements,
social aims of clubs were instrumental in gaining
preferential treatment compared to hotels by
officials and legislators.

15.  Police and public officials allowed NSW clubs to
serve liquor outside hotel trading hours and
operate illegal poker machines.
 The link between gambling and social benefit
was being firmly established in government
policy.
 Gambling for social purposes was seen as
acceptable to a population who viewed
gambling as integral part of Australian popular
culture.

16.  Between the 1940s and 1970s, government policies
on gambling continued to emphasize social
benefit, although attention turned toward
controlling illegal gambling operations, primarily in
bookmaking and gaming machine operations.

17.  Governments moves to stamp out illegal gambling
justified the spread of legalized commercial
gambling in Australia during the 1950s and 1960s.
 In 1956, NSW clubs were successful in gaining
exclusive legal rights to machine gaming
operations, with stated official justification
focusing on characteristics that differentiated
clubs, from profit focused, openly accessible
hotels.

18.  1956 to 1970 the evolution of the NSW club
industry was characterized by exponential growth
in the number of clubs and club members and
increasing appeal to working-class people.

19.  Economic pressures and social instability in the
1970 forced governments to rethink existing
policies and fin new stimulants for economic
growth.
 Competition for gambling dollars saw a fall in
the popularity of lottery tickets but a rise in
number of new lottery products such as lotto,
soccer pools, powerball and instant lottery.

20. Four trends as being important for the future of
racing andWagering:
- Privatization of the mainTAB networks and
their listing on the stock exchange.
- rationalization of racing.This has taken the
form of “growing the business” through
providing more opportunities for punters to bet
on racing and removing those race meetings
that add little to the business

21. Four trends as being important for the future of
racing andWagering:
-promotion of special events in racing as a part
of a drive for increased tourism.
- Interactive electronic wagering. Online betting
on racing and sports is permitted and
introduced.

22. Internet gambling began operating during 1996 in
the Northern territory.

23.  Development
- three waves
1. was established inTasmania and northern
territory, two jurisdictions most vulnerable to
the 1970s economic slump.
 2. casino developments in Perth, Gold coast,
Adelaide,Canberra,Townsville and
Christmas Island.Aimed to stimulate tourism
but was also intended to boost economic
development.

24.  Development
- three waves
3. mid1990 the third wave, megacasinos being built in
major urban centers of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane
and popular tourist destination of Cairins.- established
as a response to economic consequences of the 1990s
recession by the previously industrialized states.
- has seen new Australian casinos located in major
urban centers drawing their patronage from local
residents, not tourist.

25.  Australian casinos that differentiate them from
international casinos, including access, location and
government policies:
- Australian casinos are very accessible.
- Australian casinos are located mainly in major
urban centers with a stable population base. (local
residents are dominant, regular local players place
small bets.
- have not been established due to public demand,
but due to the various state governments desires
for economic benefits.

26.  Each state and territory has an act of parliament to
allow the granting of casino license and
subsequent operation.
 Ultimately, responsibility for control of casinos lies
with the relevant state or territory authority which,
with a few minor exceptions, is not subject to the
direction or control of the ministers.

27.  Members of the authority are selected from
recommendations made by minister and should
generally include persons with qualifications in
a.) business management
b.) gaming
c. Law
d. Finance
e. Information technology

28.  The chief executive officer has the power and
authority to investigate the areas of casino that it
considers may be in breach of the act and apply the
relevant penalties.
 Casino must pay any casino duty to the authority
as set out by the state treasurer.
 Most casino must also pay a community benefit
levy, which in NSW is paid into the Casino
community benefit fund administered by the
casino community benefit fund trustees.

29.  Australia is well positioned geographically to take
advantage of the growing global market for casino
gambling. Burswood and MGM grand casino
attract some of the highest per capita gambling
expenditures, given their geographical proximity to
high roller markets in Asia. In 2000-2001, net
gambling takings in Australia from international
tourist wwereA$611 million, an increase of 13
percent from the previous year.of this premium
players(high rollers) contributed a $500million, an
increase of 8 percent from previous year.

30.  Through branding, packaging and sheer economic
strength, multinational corporations with
investments around the globe have established a
high degree of market control, which small
localized gambling operators cannot match.

31.  Australian casinos face increasing international
competition. Not only has casino development
escalated in many countries, but casino themselves
have been progressively internationalized.They
are being forced to keep up to the world- rather
than national, state or regional standards.Thus,
there has been a migration of casino management
practices and a standardization of casino
developments towards the large-scale US
model.(McMillan, 1995).

32.  Homogenizations of markets and casino games is
reflected in the evolution and promotion of
standard North American-style casinos and
machine gaming. Many international games have
been standardized, devoid of any local, cultural
meaning.Traditional class boundaries in the types
of gambling people participate in are also
disappearing (McMillen, 1995)

33.  In each Australian state, government and casino
operators have joined forces in a parochial effort to
penetrate new markets and promote their own
regional casino operations. State governments are
coming under increasing pressure to make
concessions to their local casinos to improve their
competitiveness.This could threaten the regulatory
effectiveness of state governments and reduce the
economic benefits of casinos to the local economy. A
collaborative approach between casino operators and
governments in the various states is required to work
cooperatively to overcome regional competition
within Australia (McMillen 1995)

34.  Offshore internet gambling operations thriving.They
potentially threaten the competitiveness of traditional
forms of gambling and effective government
regulation and taxation in Australia. All forms of
gambling are available on the internet including those
provided at casinos (gaming machines, table games,
and sportsbook), clubs (gaming machine, keno,
raffles), church and community halls(bingo), hotels
(gaming machine,raffles), newsagents(lotto, pools,
instant lottery) andTAB (horses, greyhounds)
(Toneguzzo, 1996)

35.  This explanation and analysis was based first on
significant periods in the history of Australian
gambling and second of the casino growth.
 Distinctive features of the Australian casino
growth were explained using McMillen’s (1995)
concept of three waves.

36.  There are 13 casinos, the first of which has been
in operation only since 1973.
 Although changing historical conditions have
created an environment that allowed for the
establishment and development of casinos in
Australia, they face considerable opportunities
and challenges in sustaining and growing their
market share.