Image: Credit: Kate Geraghty/Fairfax
After around 20 years of workarounds, the NSW Labor Government has directed almost 700 venues to turn off their pokies between 4 am and 10 am, getting rid of a loophole that allowed poker machines to operate during the early morning hours.
Under existing law, venues are required to shut down gaming machines for six hours daily, between 4 am and 10 am, as a method to reduce the possibility of harm from them.
How pokies have gotten around the daily six-hour shutdown rules
However, for two decades, venues have been able to get around the standard shutdown expectations by arguing financial hardship or tourism benefits, and then could apply for a shorter shutdown than the mandatory 4 am to 10 am. In addition to those reasons, pubs and clubs with pokies installed before 1997 could also have different shutdown hours.
The repeal of these long-running shutdown variations will take effect from 31 March 2026, giving venues time to adjust their poker machine hours.
“Shutting down this loophole should never have taken this long. No venue should be allowed to run pokies 24/7, and this exemption has been exploited for years by venues chasing every last dollar of gambling harm,” said NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann.
“The NSW Government will continue to deliver evidence-based reforms to ensure we are striking the balance of addressing gambling harm while supporting an industry that contributes billions to the NSW economy and employs more than 150,000 people,” said NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris.
For the past 20 years, more than 670 pubs and clubs have had shorter shutdowns, allowing pokies to remain open through the early-morning hours that have been repeatedly identified as the riskiest time for gambling harm.
Using pokies in the early morning puts individuals at risk
A study from 2023 funded by the Responsible Gambling Fund found that 70.5 per cent of people playing pokies between 4 am and 10 am are high-risk or moderate-risk gamblers. The research showed that these early morning hours are particularly dangerous for using the machines.
“The study undertaken for the Responsible Gambling Fund into the impact of late night pokies gambling highlighted that gambling harm increased after midnight, and more so after 2am. The Productivity Commission also recommended a 2am shutdown,” said Faehrmann.
Additionally, in 2024, a review by Liquor and Gaming NSW showed that the six-hour shutdown period, starting no later than 4 am, helps lessen gambling-related harm. The review also had no evidence to support changing the start time or lengthening the pokie shutdown duration.
The Roadmap for Gaming Reform’s revisions for pokie exemptions
Later in 2025, the Independent Panel on Gaming Reform’s Roadmap for Gaming Reform advised that all pre-existing shutdown variations be repealed, with a transition period for venues.
“Following months of review, it is clear the 20-year-old variations enabling more than 670 clubs and pubs with gaming machines to operate outside of the mandated hours were no longer fit for purpose,” said Harris. “The Minns Labor Government takes gambling harm minimisation seriously and these changes are a continuation of measures we are making to protecting people in NSW who are experiencing harm.”
“This is the absolute bare minimum for the government to do to reduce late night gambling harm…I’ll continue to seek support to get pokies shutdown earlier,” said Faehrmann. “We still have more than 86,000 poker machines in NSW — more than anywhere outside Nevada…”
Minns Government’s efforts on gaming reform
The revised shutdown is part of the Minns Government’s gaming reform, which includes cutting the cash input limit on new machines from $5,000 to $500, gradually reducing the statewide cap on gaming machine entitlements, banning political donations from clubs with electronic gaming machines, prohibiting external and internal gaming-related signage that can be seen from outside venues, and eliminating gambling advertisments on public transportation.
The state government is also introducing Responsible Gambling Officers, requiring venues to have a Gaming Plan of Management and a Gambling Incident Register, among other measures.
Venues that believe they have a strong case for different hours will still be able to seek exemptions under revised guidelines by applying through Liquor and Gaming NSW. Any continued variations will need to meet stricter criteria and will be determined by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority.
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