Tabcorp Seeks Reclassification of Electronic Blackjack As Table Game

Tabcorp Blackjack

The Tabcorp Holdings gaming group has been investing heavily in bringing more blackjack card games to Queensland casinos.

Having spent $625 million, Tabcorp has invested trice as much in their Queensland blackjack casinos as originally planned. $350 million will be spent upgrading the Jupiters Casino on the Gold Coast, which will now include a 200-room hotel. $260 million will be spent expanding the Treasury Casino in Brisbane to include an events centre and 400-room hotel. Another $15 million is slated for the Jupiter’s Casino in Townsville.

The money for all this will come from expanding blackjack card games and other casino games. The Queensland government game a tentative agreement for 500 more poker machine licenses plus the transfer of 47 slot machine licenses. These transfers would move surplus licenses at the Townsville casino to either Brisbane or Gold Coast operations. Tabcorp has also received 50 licenses good for playing blackjack card games and other table games. Thus, Tabcorp now holds 265 table license and 3136 slot licenses.

Moreover, the Queensland government has decided on reviewing the categorization for multi-terminal gambling machines. These host digital versions of blackjack and roulette games, similar to games at online casinos. Presently, each terminal requires a distinct license. If these are determined to be table games, Tabcorp could use a single table license to permit the operation of multiple electronic gambling machines. This would enable an enormous boost in the number of blackjack machines in operation.

All this expansion is intended to begin after the demerger announced last October. The casino expects to earn $90 million per year by 2018, not accounting for paying off debts and taxes and downgrading property values.