Pokies-free pubs gain momentum across NSW
A quiet but growing movement is reshaping the character of pubs across New South Wales, with a handful of operators walking away from poker machine revenue in favour of live music, entertainment and community-focused hospitality.
Leading the charge is Sydney's Odd Culture Group, which stripped the gaming rooms from the Duke of Enmore and the Old Fitzroy Hotel in Woolloomooloo, replacing slot machines with pool tables, retro arcade games, a functioning pub cinema and live music programming.
Odd Culture chief executive and co-founder James Thorpe acknowledged the financial stakes involved in surrendering one of the industry's most reliable revenue streams.
"In NSW, we're obsessed with pokies. There is this weird facet to our pubs in Sydney, which is the gaming room, which is usually occupying the room that used to be for live music," Thorpe told nine.com.au. "So much money is made from these rooms, half of the value of the property of some of these pubs is tied up just in the gaming machine licences. It distorts the market in a really real way, and makes it really difficult to have a pub that doesn't have pokies."
The backdrop is a worsening state-wide gambling crisis. Wesley Mission figures show NSW pokies losses reached a record $2.45 billion in the third quarter of 2025, with the state on track to exceed $10 billion across 2026.
The trend extends beyond Sydney. Winemaker Peter Logan purchased the historic Court House Hotel in Mudgee after its previous owners removed the gaming machines.
"They just do too much damage.... I wouldn't like to be making money from that," Logan said. "It was a draw card for us, and it was a negative for any experienced publicans, by the looks of things."
Logan converted the former gaming space into a lounge with leather armchairs, board games and open fireplaces, returning the venue to its original purpose.
"We wanted a place where people talk to each other and enjoy themselves," he said. "Pokies only came into pubs in my adult lifetime, before that, they didn't exist, and they really changed the scene of pubs."
Anti-gambling advocate Kate Seselja, who lost approximately $500,000 to poker machines over 15 years, welcomed the shift but placed it in the context of broader policy failure.
"In the absence of any meaningful reforms regarding safe consumer safeguarding of poker machines, this has been the only alternative for venues that actually prioritise the wellbeing of their communities," she said. "When the community wellbeing is put ahead of profit, the community shows up in a way that rewards that action, and it doesn't necessarily mean financial disadvantage."
For Odd Culture, the results have vindicated the decision. Live music has returned strongly to the Duke of Enmore, while the Old Fitzroy's in-house cinema draws audiences from across the city.
"Both of those businesses are way more popular and successful now than they were before we took them on," Thorpe said. "We've crafted really successful business models there that kind of show that you can still run a traditional pub in Sydney, without pokies."
Jonathan Jackson, 16th June 2026
