Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for Crown Casino Melbourne to shut its operations amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, and at a time when many events that are important to the city are being cancelled or restricted.
Social indoor gatherings at which more than 100 people are being present have been banned, with the measure affecting the entertainment and cultural life in Melbourne. The sports life has also been suffering due to the Covid-19 outbreak, with the Grand Prix being cancelled last weekend, and the AFL’s opening round set to begin as planned with no fans being present in the stadium to prevent large social gatherings.
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival was also cancelled for the first time in its history so far.
Despite the extensive measures aimed at restricting the spread of the coronavirus infection, Crown Casino Melbourne remains operational. This has made campaigners, including Charles Livingstone, a Monash University professor, call for stricter measures to be imposed on local gambling rooms. Mr Livingston shared that gambling rooms should be closed with immediate effect in order to make sure that patrons, especially the more vulnerable ones, are well protected from Covid-19.
Mr Livingstone also shared his personal opinion that poker machines are a high-risk vector for infection, considering the fact that they are linked to a regular and repetitive touch of the terminals’ buttons.
Pokie Machines Could Be Dangerous When It Comes to Covid-19 Infection Spread
Professor Livingstone, who is a gambling expert, has shared that he is concerned that older people who also have problems with compulsive gambling on poker machines. According to him, such patrons are much more exposed to the risk of getting infected with the coronavirus infection.
On one hand, poker terminals are highly addictive and on the other hand, people who suffer from gambling addiction usually find it hard to make rational decisions when their gambling is concerned.
For the time being, Crown Resorts has issued a statement, saying that the operator has amended its social distancing policies at the Crown Melbourne and Crown Perth venues following consultation with the Victorian and Western Australian Governments. As part of the measures, further restrictions regarding the number of patrons in the casino conference, banqueting and food and beverage facilities, reducing the number of people allowed at the above-mentioned facilities from 450 to 100 individuals. The largest casino operator in Australia further noted that, for the time being, the rest of the previously-announced measures are set to remain in place.
According to campaigners, who back the social distancing measures at casino venues, Crown Resorts should not be exempt from the policy, as large casinos usually draw large crowds. Campaigners have said that public health had been their key motivation to insist on stricter measures regarding the operations of Crown Melbourne.
- Author
Olivia Cole
