ANZ said it would consider lending Dorset Gardens Hotel $6 million, but only if it added eight more pokies

ANZ Bank told the owners of the Dorset Gardens Hotel it would consider lending them $6 million, but only if they met conditions, including increasing the number of poker machines at the venue from 97 to 105.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) approved the increase in March – a move slammed by anti-pokies campaigner Tim Costello.

Poker machine players lost more than $20 million at the pub last financial year, and it is expected the extra eight machines will add between $1.1 million and $1.7 million annually to those losses.

🤔 Commission considers: VGCCC documents viewed by the Eastern Melburnian show the hotel’s owner - DG Hotel Pty Ltd - applied in September 2025 to increase its poker machine numbers from 97 to 105 “as part of a proposed redevelopment … including an upgrade to modernise the bistro, the nightclub, the sports lounge and the function rooms, increasing the capacity of the bistro by 100 seats, and creating casual lounge areas”.

• DG Hotel Pty Ltd said the proposed redevelopment was estimated to cost $6.7 million excluding GST.

• The VGCCC said DG Hotel Pty Ltd included a letter from ANZ Bank “expressing the ANZ’s interest in working with DG Hotel Pty Ltd with a view to providing facilities of up to $6 million to finance the proposed capital works”.

• “The ANZ letter expressed its interest in considering the loan subject to, among other things, DG Hotel Trust obtaining an increase of eight EGMs [Electronic Gaming Machines].”

🗓️ The history: Opened in 1967, the Dorset Gardens Hotel was one of the first venues in Victoria to install poker machines, in July 1992.

• A world away from a corner pub, the Dorset Gardens Hotel has a seven-day-a-week bistro for 350 diners, sports lounge with capacity for 650 patrons, TAB, nightclub, drive-through bottle shop, 45 motel units and self-contained apartments and a gaming room with 97 pokies.

• Hospitality entrepreneur Mario Scerri bought the hotel - which inspired a line in Australian Crawl’s 1980 hit “The Boys Light Up” - for $44 million in 2006 and transferred ownership to his brother Joseph Scerri in 2011. 

🪙 Anti-pokies response: Alliance for Gambling Reform (AGR) chief advocate Tim Costello said the community benefit from adding eight pokies would amount to “nothing”.

• “I’m always shocked when a regulator allows more pokies,” Costello told the Eastern Melburnian. “At every opportunity, we should be reducing the number of pokies. Pokies are a job destroyer.”

The VGCCC states that “minimising harm caused by gambling is central to the Commission’s functions. Reducing gambling harm experienced by patrons of gambling businesses is also a key objective of the Commission”.

👍 Space for more: According to the VGCCC, Maroondah has the capacity to soak up more poker machines. The LGA currently has 640 machines, but the maximum allowed is 759.

• It said Maroondah Council was notified of the hotel’s application to increase poker machine numbers from 97 to 105, and made a submission. 

• The Eastern Melburnian sought the submission from Maroondah Council, however it did not respond by publication.

• The VGCCC document states that Maroondah Council’s submission objected to the application, arguing the extra eight poker machines “did not align with Council’s plans, policies and strategies to promote a safe environment for gambling activities”.

• The VGCCC held a public inquiry on February 2 and 3. It said the Maroondah Council “elected not to appear”. 

📱 Contact attempts: The Eastern Melburnian sought comment from DG Hotel Pty Ltd by email and phone, but did not receive a response.

• Croydon MP David Hodgett thanked the Eastern Melburnian for bringing the matter to his attention, but said he had no comment on the VGCCC decision. 

• Deakin MP Matt Gregg did not respond to a request for comment.

• ANZ Bank said it could not comment “on individual customer cases”.

📍 Widespread impacts: According to the VGCCC, the Maroondah local government area has 6.79 pokies per 1,000 adults (the third highest concentration in Victorian metropolitan municipalities). This is 54.6 percent greater than the metropolitan LGA average and 44.5 percent more than the state average.

• In the 2024-25 financial year, if you divided the overall losses on pokies by the number of adults in the LGA, the average loss per person - irrespective of whether they actually gambled - was $681.38.

• This is 17.7 percent higher than the metropolitan average and 20.6 percent more than the state average.

DG Hotel Pty Ltd said in its application 10-15 FTE (full-time equivalent) jobs would be created in the construction phase for builders, equipment contractors and material suppliers.

The eight extra pokies and renovations would create two to four FTE jobs in the gaming room and six to eight FTE jobs in reception, bistro, functions, sports lounge, TAB, nightclub, bottle-shop and accommodation, the company assured the commission. 

The Dorset Gardens Hotel is open until 4am, seven days a week.