Gaming machine operating authorities (hotels)
If you are a commercial hotel licensee that has been granted a gaming machine licence, or approved to increase the number of gaming machines on your premises, you must obtain an 'operating authority' for each gaming machine you are approved to operate.
Because the number of gaming machines in Queensland is capped, operating authorities may only be obtained by participating in an authorised sale conducted by the Public Trustee of Queensland. Sales are conducted by competitive tender in each of the 3 authority regions (South East, Coastal and Western) and authorities are only able to be sold in the region from which they originated.
Sales (tenders) of gaming machine operating authorities
The sale of gaming machine operating authorities is essentially a tender auction, with bids made through the lodgement of a tender bid form provided to eligible purchasers at the commencement of the sale.
How to know when the tender is called
The Office of Liquor and Gaming Regulation (OLGR) will provide all eligible buyers with a tender bid form by registered mail once the tender has been advertised. Sellers will also receive forms by registered mail.
The Public Trustee will place an advertisement in The Courier Mail announcing the commencement of a tender.
The advertisement will state the number of operating authorities available for sale in each region, the closing date and lodgement details.
The tender process
Only 1 tender bid form per eligible premises will be accepted, and you may not bid more than 1 amount per operating authority. If you are licensed to operate gaming machines at more than 1 premises, a separate tender bid form for each eligible premises will be required.
Tender documents must be lodged in the tender box at the office of the Public Trustee of Queensland. Note: OLGR cannot accept any tender documents.
Documents lodged without the lodgement fee (currently $55) or received after the closing time will be declared invalid. If you are lodging bids for more than 1 premises, a lodgement fee will be required for each.
Once the tender has closed, the Public Trustee will allocate each operating authority against valid tenders in order of highest to lowest bid. The Public Trustee will notify successful bidders of their allocation and require payment within 5 working days. Payment for each operating authority will be the amount bid on your tender form, an administration fee of $440 per operating authority, and stamp duty.
For more information about the sale of hotel operating authorities, read the Gaming guideline G06: Authorised sale of operating authorities (hotel).
How much to bid for an operating authority
How much you should bid for an operating authority is a matter for you and/or your accountant to determine.
The Public Trustee will set a minimum acceptable price for each region and any bids below the amount set will not be successful. The minimum acceptable price will not be disclosed.
Staff at OLGR and the Public Trustee's office are unable to assist you with how much to bid. However, details of the average price paid in previous tenders are available in the table below.
Operating authority tender results
The following table has information about recent sales, including average price, of gaming machine operating authorities.
|
| SOUTH EAST | COASTAL | WESTERN |
| |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tender | Closing date of sale | Ind | Gov | Sold | Avg. price | Ind | Gov | Sold | Avg. price | Ind | Gov | Sold | Avg. price | Contribution to CF |
| Tender 36 | 12/07/2017 | 29 | 0 | 29 | $161,228 | 25 | 0 | 25 | $55,752 | 29 | 0 | 16 | $52,972 | $2,075,092 |
Tender 35 | 22/03/2017 | 28 | 0 | 28 | $162,499 | 53 | 0 | 53 | $65,675 | 3 | 0 | 3 | $65,510 | $2,468,176 |
Tender 34 | 23/11/2016 | 37 | 0 | 37 | $150,054 | 9 | 0 | 9 | $72,510 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $1,861,377 |
Tender 33 | 27/07/2016 | 20 | 0 | 20 | $133,884 | 9 | 0 | 7 | $69,457 | 1 | 0 | 1 | $55,202 | $965,726 |
Tender 32 | 09/03/2016 | 5 | 0 | 5 | $120,746 | 24 | 0 | 24 | $65,742 | 10 | 0 | 10 | $52,553 | $812,116 |
Tender 31 | 11/11/2015 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 54 | 0 | 54 | $72,678 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $1,177,380 |
Tender 30 | 05/08/2015 | 12 | 0 | 12 | $87,058 | 12 | 0 | 12 | $101,834 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $680,013 |
Tender 29 | 08/04/2015 | 40 | 0 | 40 | $122,475 | 20 | 0 | 20 | $101,444 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $2,078,367 |
Tender 28 | 19/11/2014 | 45 | 0 | 45 | $131,341 | 32 | 0 | 32 | $66,004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $2,406,733 |
Tender 27 | 09/07/2014 | 45 | 0 | 45 | $112,492 | 9 | 0 | 9 | $62,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $1,686,048 |
Tender 26 | 12/03/2014 | 11 | 0 | 11 | $107,283 | 25 | 0 | 25 | $66,900 | 2 | 0 | 2 | $35,000 | $876,785 |
Tender 25 | 13/11/2013 | 63 | 0 | 63 | $91,160 | 28 | 0 | 28 | $59,051 | 13 | 0 | 13 | $45,481 | $2,396,320 |
Tender 24 | 10/07/2013 | 43 | 0 | 43 | $77,398 | 3 | 65 | 68 | $51,838 | 9 | 0 | 9 | $44,722 | $4,229,011 |
Tender 23 | 13/03/2013 | 36 | 77 | 113 | $78,468 | 24 | 7 | 31 | $52,694 | 9 | 0 | 9 | $31,092 | $7,138,907 |
Tender 22 | 14/11/2012 | 204 | 30 | 234 | $67,152 | 58 | 0 | 58 | $56,548 | 5 | 8 | 13 | $34,412 | $7,226,928 |
Tender 21 | 06/06/2012 | 47 | 0 | 47 | $86,767 | 26 | 2 | 28 | $64,465 | 0 | 11 | 11 | $33,700 | $2,180,443 |
Tender 20 | 14/03/2012 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 53 | 0 | 53 | $65,600 | 0 | 4 | 4 | $25,000 | $1,133,951 |
Tender 19 | 09/11/2011 | 0 | 31 | 31 | $99,432 | 40 | 0 | 40 | $64,780 | 10 | 14 | 24 | $18,184 | $3,865,524 |
Tender 18 | 13/07/2011 | 28 | 89 | 117 | $91,378 | 3 | 0 | 3 | $75,100 | 5 | 0 | 5 | $19,000 | $8,256,956 |
Tender 17 | 16/02/2011 | 5 | 0 | 5 | $80,000 | 8 | 0 | 8 | $72,500 | 27 | 0 | 27 | $18,704 | $445,500 |
Tender 16 | 14/07/2010 | 7 | 0 | 7 | $90,714 | 12 | 0 | 12 | $74,275 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $457,890 |
Tender 15 | 10/03/2010 | 57 | 0 | 57 | $112,491 | 9 | 1 | 10 | $72,800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $2,186,330 |
Tender 14 | 18/11/2009 | 48 | 0 | 48 | $112,708 | 15 | 0 | 15 | $97,130 | 3 | 0 | 3 | $22,000 | $2,079,885 |
Tender 13 | 15/07/2009 | 23 | 0 | 23 | $123,487 | 16 | 0 | 16 | $111,650 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $1,387,983 |
Tender 12 | 18/03/2009 | 12 | 3 | 15 | $124,667 | 7 | 0 | 7 | $90,214 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $978,250 |
Tender 11 | 3/12/2008 | 78 | 18 | 96 | $138,781 | 30 | 37 | 67 | $90,457 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | $9,375,193 |
Tender 10 | 16/07/2008 | 34 | 1 | 35 | $149,802 | 28 | 15 | 43 | $83,375 | 3 | 0 | 3 | $52,076 | $3,548,319 |
Tender 9 | 12/03/2008 | 15 | 60 | 75 | $142,985 | 16 | 8 | 24 | $87,733 | 7 | 0 | 7 | $50,139 | $9,607,105 |
Tender 8 | 14/11/2007 | 84 | 20 | 104 | $169,221 | 73 | 28 | 101 | $92,971 | 4 | 0 | 4 | $65,499 | $11,822,307 |
Tender 7 | 2/05/2007 | 74 | 82 | 156 | $216,948 | 29 | 21 | 50 | $113,122 | 15 | 7 | 22 | $72,909 | $24,924,586 |
Tender 6 | 22/11/2006 | 32 | 88 | 120 | $283,293 | 29 | 24 | 53 | $164,929 | 6 | 7 | 13 | $74,966 | $31,812,129 |
Tender 5 | 10/05/2006 | 24 | 0 | 24 | $226,783 | 34 | 0 | 34 | $120,382 | 8 | 0 | 8 | $68,500 | $3,530,940 |
Tender 4 | 26/10/2005 | 70 | 22 | 92 | $146,800 | 28 | 0 | 28 | $88,543 | 3 | 0 | 3 | $48,355 | $11,362,295 |
Tender 3 | 18/05/2005 | 39 | 75 | 114 | $123,955 | 48 | 0 | 48 | $77,659 | 4 | 0 | 4 | $30,002 | $11,830,144 |
Tender 2 | 1/11/2004 | 26 | 57 | 83 | $116,238 | 16 | 54 | 70 | $71,900 | 2 | 13 | 15 | $13,054 | $11,449,210 |
Tender 1 | 12/07/2004 | 120 | 57 | 177 | $99,453 | 22 | 54 | 76 | $70,755 | 32 | 4 | 36 | $15,260 | $14,368,662 |
| Totals | ||||||||||||||
Region totals | 1,441 | 710 | 2,151 | 927 | 316 | 1,241 | 210 | 68 | 265 | |||||
State total | 3,657 | |||||||||||||
Total tenders | 36 | |||||||||||||
Also consider...
- View current, pending and recently approved gaming machine licence applications.
- View electronic gaming machine statistics for Queensland.
- Read the Gaming Machine Act 1991 (PDF, 2MB).
- Last reviewed: 04 Aug 2017
- Last updated: 04 Aug 2017