Bar 53, El Patron, Whisky Tango: Venues in southwest Sydney without pokies

As the “silent epidemic” of gambling-related harm remains a concern in Sydney’s southwest, some venues have made the deliberate call to stay pokie-free. Find out why.

El Patron in Gregory Hills have a strong stance against gambling and opened their venue without pokies.

Businesses have made the bold decision to exclude poker machines from their entertainment venues as the “silent epidemic” of gambling-related harm continues to take hold in southwest Sydney.

A research paper from Western Sydney University found Canterbury-Bankstown accounted for the highest daily electronic gaming machine losses at $1.9m, followed by $1.7m in Fairfield.

The southwest is known as the “mecca for pokies”, with almost two-thirds of Sydney’s gambling losses from western Sydney.

The author of the WSU report, Tom Nance, said the “casinos on every corner” had left people without choices on a night out.

“We’ve never had that choice of a venue without pokies in western Sydney as options are limited after 7 or 8pm, but your local pub with machines is always open,” he said.

Bar 53 in Fairfield decided to open up without pokies in 2017. Picture: Bar 53.

“There’s a shift and we might see that movement where people are deciding to enjoy a drink without the pokies but it’s about the choices people have available to them.”

The Fairfield local government area has 37 premises with electronic gaming machines and a total of 3831 pokies, while Canterbury-Bankstown area has 61 clubs and hotels with machines and 4747 pokies in the area, according to NSW Liquor and Gaming.

Mr Nance said there had been a “level of complacency” as the number of pokies and gambling-related harm crept up in western Sydney.

“I understand why clubs are nervous to say when they have a 80-90 per cent revenue through pokies as they’ve broadly put their eggs into one market and have been able to grow rapidly,” he said.

“However, that can’t last forever and as a result there are some key questions on how they can diversify.”

Fairfield’s Bar 53 opened without pokies in 2017 without machines to “give people the option of a fun night out without the burden of gambling”.

Owner Ninos Shlaimon said he was never concerned about the lack of pokies at his venue, as they’re a “drain on the community”.

“A few people would tell me, what’s there to do at the bar if there are no pokies, no horse racing, no Keno? But I was targeting a young demographic,” he said.

Whisky Tango owner Marko Kovac and his wife Kristina Kovac also have no pokies at their venue. Picture: Supplied

Mr Shlaimon said Bar 53 was reminiscent of a backyard house party with an extensive bar selection and seating for the crew and customers to chat and have a good time.

Whisky Tango Bar at Len Waters Estate also made the decision to exclude pokies from their venue when it opened in 2021.

Owner Marko Kovac said the decision came after the overnight transformation of his local watering hole into a pokie den.

Inside Whisky Tango bar in southwest Sydney. Picture: Supplied.

“The venue we used to frequent would be open till 3am and we were told that we had to move to pokies room at 10pm,” he said.

“It was a little dungeon and my mates and I were all pretending to play just so we could have a drink and talk.

“That’s when I thought the area needed a place to go and drink without the burden of being pulled into gambling.”

Mr Kovac said he used to work at a bistro where he’d see patrons addicted to the machines and “waiting for the next win” – a behaviour he wanted to eradicate at Whisky Tango.

“It wasn’t uncommon to see that someone had urinated themselves so no one could take their seat,” he said.

“You’d see the same face and they don’t look happy, they look like zombies.”

El Patron in Gregory Hills have a strong stance against gambling and opened their venue without pokies.

Gregory Hills’ El Patron, which opened in 2021, is also pokie-free with general manager Nicholas Cakovski saying the venue “didn’t want to contribute to the state’s really bad problem with pokies”.

“It’s something that we need to eradicate and we believe that by not having pokies at the venue, we’re taking a step in the right direction,” he said.

“I’ve seen people get paid, go to the pub and smash their whole paycheck and then scratch their heads on how they’re going to make ends meet just because of the pokies situation.”

While pokies are a guaranteed revenue stream for venues, Mr Cakovski said El Patron had benefited without machines by investing time and energy into their products and services for customers every week.

“We really focus on our customer service, atmosphere, drinks, live music events and gourmet food because we don’t have that additional revenue that comes with the pokies,” he said.

“For other venues, they don’t have to rely heavily on their products and services because the pokies money is always consistent.”