The Minister of Internal Affairs Mark Burton has presented a bill to Parliament to extend the existing moratorium on new casino licence applications.

"The purpose of the initial moratorium was to prevent a proliferation of casinos while new legislation was developed to address concerns about the licensing criteria in the Casino Control Act 1990," Mark Burton said.

"Since then, a Gaming Law Reform Bill has been introduced into the House, which attempts to address some of those licensing concerns.

"I have also announced a comprehensive gaming review to be completed over the next two years.

"The Casino Control (Moratorium Extension) Amendment Bill would maintain the status quo, ensuring that there is not a proliferation of casinos during the time when the comprehensive review is taking place.

"Such a proliferation could undermine the opportunity for the wide consultation and input that the review is intended to provide," Mark Burton said.

The Bill provides that the Casino Control Authority may not consider any casino premises licence application lodged between the 16th October 1997 and 15th October 2003.

This extends the period of the moratorium by 3 years.

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