Casino Canberra officials announced that the venue’s opening hours have been extended as of today, February 14. Now, the casino is to open its doors every day at noon and will close at 4 am. In fact, it might even stay open up until 6 am, if players ask for it.
A spokesperson for the casino said that extending the opening hours was yet another measure that the new owners of Casino Canberra took so as to revitalize the area. It seems, however, that gambling opponents have expressed their concerns that this change might pose serious risks to vulnerable residents of the Australian Capital Territory.
Casino Canberra was acquired by Tony Fung’s company Aquis Developments back in 2014. Venue’s executives pointed out that it needs to be open for the greater part of the day and “into the early hours of the morning” so as to meet the demands of its visitors.
However, Frank Brassil, president of the so-called St Vincent de Paul Society Canberra and Goulburn, an Australian volunteer organization that aims at helping people in need, pointed out that he is particularly disappointed with the fact that more gambling options are offered to the ACT residents.
Mr. Brassil said that extending Casino Canberra’s opening hours will make it even more difficult for people who already show symptoms of gambling addiction. He also stated that according to him, not much has been done by ACT authorities to cope with problem gambling, and the fact that casinos are becoming even more easy to access will certainly make things worse.
Susan Helyar, the current director of the ACT Council of Social Service, said that the extended opening hours will lead to more people spending more time and money at casinos, which, in turn, might lead to gambling addiction and serious financial problems.
According to her, problem gambling can only be tackled if the access to venues that offer gambling options is reduced as much as possible.
Casino Canberra’s spokesperson said that all gaming and dining facilities within the premises of the building will be available throughout the opening hours. He also pointed out that owners are planning to completely renovate the venue at some point in future as part of their plan to turn it into a popular and competitive gambling, leisure, and entertainment destination.
According to previous reports, Las Vegas-based real estate development companies have been hired to take care of Casino Canberra’s refurbishment and to make sure that it will carry out the spirit of the gambling venues located on the Las Vegas Strip.
