If the Liberal-National Coalition retains power, every poker machine in NSW will be cashless by December 31, 2028. Ms Huddart said she wants to encourage more chatting between customers and a more family-oriented premises.Īustralians lost more than $11.4billion on poker machines (pictured) in a year, according to Melbourne's Monash University

'Pokies can be quite antisocial so from a value standpoint, we decided that they weren't in line with where we wanted to take things,' she told ABC Sunshine Coast. Jessica Huddart bought the 113-year-old Mapleton Public House in the Sunshine Coast hinterland last June and recently made up her mind to get rid of the pokies.įor most pubs, the machines are a goldmine, bringing in a steady stream of revenue that has bankrolled the transformation of many hotels into venues that are luxurious compared to those of the pre-pokies era.īut for Ms Huddart, the financial benefits were outweighed by the social cost - having customers sitting in a side-room staring at flashing, beeping screens was totally at odds with what the social community hub she wanted her pub to be.

A Queensland woman who bought a country pub nine months ago has done something few publicans have dared to do - she dumped her poker machines and sold their gaming licence for around $2.25million.

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