While the rest of Australia’s hospitality and entertainment industries grapple with the newly set 100-person COVID-19 gathering ban implemented by the Morrison Government, curiously enough Melbourne and Perth’s Crown Casino gaming floors appear to be exempt.
While the Casino has, in recent days, gone to lengths to implement various social distancing strategies – including limiting the amount of people allowed in the casino’s dining, retail, and theatre facilities – reports this morning seem to suggest that those restrictions stop at the precipice of the gaming floors.
As reported by Virginia Trioli and ABC Radio Melbourne this morning, Crown officials issued a statement this morning confirming that they would be conforming with the new government restrictions on public gatherings, to a very certain degree.
“Following consultation with the Victorian and Western Australian Governments, Crown’s social distancing policies at Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth have been amended to revise the restriction on the number of patrons in individual food & beverage, banqueting and conference facilities from 450 persons to 100 persons,” a statement from Crown management issued to the ASX reads.
“All other previously announced measures will remain in place.”
With no further clarification from Crown on the latter phrase, the assumption then is that previously implemented measures on casino gaming floors – measures that don’t go terribly far beyond switching off every second poker machine – are still the ceiling.
Per the ABC’s chief Victorian state politics reporter Richard Willingham, Premier Daniel Andrews has designated Crown Casino as a “unique” space in Victoria, giving it an exemption from the otherwise blanket ban on non-essential indoor gatherings over over 100 people.
Crown can continue to run their gaming rooms with every second poker machine turned off. It is has an exemption and is a “unique” space in Victoria @DanielAndrewsMP says.@abcmelbourne @LaTrioli
— Richard Willingham (@rwillingham) March 18, 2020
The Casino’s previous social distancing policies reportedly received approval from Victoria’s Chief Health Officer. But while officials readily apply new Federal regulations on crowd sizes to other arms of its operations, that gaming – by far and away its most lucrative – remains apparently exempt certainly raises a question or two.
