Central Australian businesses not in lockdown losing out with NT-wide Keno outage

Central Australian businesses are facing revenue losses after a Territory-wide NT Keno outage.

CENTRAL Australian businesses are facing revenue losses after a Territory-wide NT Keno outage this week.

The NT News understands the lottery-like gambling game is currently down across the Territory.

The main system is also understood to be based at Darwin’s Mindil Beach Casino Resort.

Due to the Darwin, Palmerston and Darwin rural area Covid-19 lockdown, staff cannot access the system, thus the outage is impacting revenue for areas not in lockdown.

It is understood affected businesses in Central Australia include Club Eastside, Gap View Hotel, Gillen Club, Lasseters Hotel Casino, Todd Tavern and Uncles Tavern in Alice Springs, as well as the Tennant Creek Goldfields Hotel Motel, Sporties Club, Tennant Creek Hotel, Tennant Creek Memorial Club.

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Tennant Creek’s Goldfields Hotel Motel manager Jason Groves said Keno had been out since 1pm on Sunday and businesses were left in the dark as to what had happened.

“People can’t play Keno, they can’t check their Keno tickets they had from the previous day,” he said.

“(Keno) is a venue that is run by one person sitting in a room with a mask on for the whole of the Territory.

“Basically (NT Keno) weren’t allowed to go into the office and send out emails, phone calls to inform businesses.

“I realise it’s not an essential service but it’s affected the tourism industry. The supervisor wasn’t allowed in to the Darwin office to send emails out so businesses were left sitting in the dark, and we couldn’t ring Keno because they’re at home.”

He said further revenue loss from the popular game during its outage was another blow delivered in the Covid-19 climate.

“The problem is people enjoy coming to the hotel to play Keno. They sit there and play the numbers and have a couple of beers, just like some people like to sit at the pub and play the pokies or sit at the pub and watch the horse racing.

“It’s some people’s form of socialising.

“You’d expect Keno to keep rolling because it’s one person in a control room with one computer system.

“Why is the rest of the Territory suffering just because someone decides to shut down Darwin?.”

Delaware North, which runs the Mindil Beach Casino, has been contacted for comment.

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