Pokies near me: where pubs and clubs run them, and when they switch off

Where the pokies near you are, state by state

What a search for “pokies near me” turns up depends on your state, because each state and territory writes its own rules. Everywhere except Western Australia, pubs or clubs can run gaming machines, and hours and cash rules differ a lot between them:

State rules checked 18 and 19 Sep 2026, mostly on government and regulator pages.

Looking for club pokies near you rather than a pub? Clubs are allowed bigger rooms. The Northern Territory caps a hotel at 20 machines but a club at 55, and a single Queensland club premises can run up to 300. NSW has roughly 87,000 machines spread across about 2,100 pubs and clubs.

If you’re in Perth, the answer is simple and a long drive for many: Crown Perth in Burswood is the only venue in WA with pokies. Its carded play caps machine time at 12 hours a day and 28 hours a week; the Crown Perth guide has the rest. For every casino in the country, see the full list of casinos in Australia.

Pokies open now: overnight shutdowns and 24-hour casinos

Searching “pokies open now” late at night usually means the pub has already switched off. Victoria’s pubs and clubs must close gaming areas from 4am to 10am every day, and NSW applies the same 4am to 10am shutdown as standard. NSW repealed the exemptions held by more than 670 venues from 31 Mar 2026, but venues can still apply for a variation, such as a shorter 6am to 9am shutdown on weekends and public holidays.

At 5am on a weeknight in Melbourne, Crown is the only room with machines switched on, and it expects a card with your limits already set. Crown also caps play at 12 hours a day; our Crown Melbourne guide has the details. In Sydney, Crown Sydney is no help at any hour because its licence bans poker machines; The Star Sydney is open 24 hours but needs a physical player card.

Hours are shrinking elsewhere too. Tasmania announced in January 2026 that hotel and club machines will be off for 7 hours in every 24 instead of 4, with the rollout due by mid-2028. An ACT bill introduced on 15 Sep 2026 would cut gaming hours by 15 a week from 1 Jul 2027.

Cashless cards and new limits: what changed in 2025 and 2026

Victoria: A$100 in, A$5 a spin

Victorian pub and club machines now take no more than A$100 in cash at a time, won’t accept notes above A$50, cap bets at A$5, have no autoplay and must stay connected to YourPlay at all times. New machines approved after 1 Dec 2025 also need at least 3 seconds per spin. Mandatory carded play passed Parliament in May 2025, but so far it has only been trialled, in 43 venues across Monash, Greater Dandenong and Ballarat, and we found no statewide start date.

NSW: cash stays

Machines installed since 1 Jul 2023 accept A$500 in cash, down from A$5,000; older machines weren’t changed. The 25 Aug 2026 reform package doesn’t make venues cashless. It upgrades the state’s monitoring system over two years so venues can choose to offer account-based play, sets up a statewide exclusion register with mandatory facial recognition from 2028, and will end VIP gaming programs.

Tasmania, the ACT and South Australia

Tasmania scrapped its planned cashless card in January 2026. In its place come tickets capped at A$200, a A$100 limit on what a machine can hold at once, facial recognition, and venue ATMs only with a 24-hour withdrawal limit. The ACT’s bill goes further: account-based cashless gaming with loss limits, a 15-minute break after each hour of play, and a cut to 1,000 machines by 2045. It isn’t law yet. South Australia already stops note acceptors from taking A$100 notes and requires facial recognition in venues with 30 or more machines where any machine takes notes. The state’s only casino floor is Adelaide Casino on North Terrace.

Before you head out: what to check and bring

A short check saves a wasted trip, especially late at night or when the nearest pokies are at a casino.

1. 1 Check the shutdown window In NSW and Victoria, pub and club machines are off from 4am to 10am as standard, so a late-night drive usually ends at a casino, not the local.
2. 2 Bring the right notes Victorian pub and club machines won't take notes above A$50, and South Australian note acceptors refuse A$100 notes.
3. 3 Casino trip: sort the card first Crown Melbourne needs a photo card with time and loss limits, which you can set up in YourPlay online before you go. The Star Sydney needs a physical Player Card, and Crown Perth a current Crown Rewards card.
4. 4 Pack photo ID Crown Perth accepts an Australian driver's licence, passport, learner permit, Proof of Age card, Photo Card or Keypass. The Star Sydney issues player cards against a passport, driver licence or NSW Digital Licence.
5. 5 Set your limit at home YourPlay in Victoria and Star Assist at The Star Sydney both let you set a spend or time limit on compatible machines. Pick the number before you walk in, not at the machine.

A big win changes the trip home too. Since August 2024, The Star Sydney has paid anything above A$5,000 by electronic transfer within 2 business days, by cheque or into a Star Account, not in cash. Cash withdrawals at The Star’s cashier are capped at A$5,000 too, with larger amounts sent by EFT or cheque.

Pub pokies vs online pokies

The closest pokies to you right now may be on your phone. Here’s how a pub machine compares with a session at SafeCasino:

Online pokies also publish their return to player. Pragmatic Play lists 96.5% for Gates of Olympus and 96.71% for Big Bass Bonanza, and some games come in lower-RTP versions, so open the game’s info screen and pick on the number it shows rather than on the lights. The online pokies guide has more of the lobby.

Two differences cut the other way. SafeCasino is an offshore casino, not licensed in Australia; what the law says explains what that means for a player at home. And no deposit-limit setting is listed, so set your budget before the first deposit and ask live chat for self-exclusion if you need a break. The responsible gambling page lists free Australian support, including Gambling Help Online.

The pub favourites and their closest online matches

Many of the machines Australians know from the pub, Lightning Link among them, are Aristocrat games, and those aren’t in SafeCasino’s lobby. What SafeCasino does carry is the same style of play: Hold & Win money respins, buffalo-themed games and free spins with stacking wild multipliers, from Pragmatic Play, Playson and BGaming.

Wolf Gold is the nearest thing to a pub link game: six or more money symbols start three respins that reset each time a new one lands, and filling all 15 positions adds the 1,000x Mega Jackpot. Gold Rush with Johnny Cash works the same way with coins: six or more start six respins, and all 15 win the x5,000 jackpot. Buffalo King plays on a 6x4 grid with free-spin wilds worth 2x, 3x or 5x that stack. For the Aristocrat side of the story, see the Lightning Link page, and if you’d rather not spend anything yet, spin Wolf Gold in demo mode at SafeCasino or play the free pokies list first.