A timeline of the houses, 1973 to today

The ten — Timeline

• 10 February 1973

  Wrest Point opened at Sandy Bay, Hobart. The official record calls Wrest Point Australia’s first ever casino and says it was born in 1973; the exact 10 February 1973 date is from Wikipedia, a secondary source.

• 1981

  Lasseters at Alice Springs dates to 1981 by Wikipedia, which also records the former name Diamond Springs Casino. The current record verifies the live house as Lasseters Alice Springs, with the hotel franchised to IHG as Crowne Plaza Alice Springs Lasseters.

• 1982

  Country Club Tasmania at Prospect Vale dates to 1982 by Wikipedia. The resort’s own pages describe it as Australia’s third oldest casino, while the present official pages do not publish a total room count.

• 1983

  Mindil Beach Casino Resort in Darwin dates to 1983 by Wikipedia, with licence history from Don Casino in 1979 and former names including Diamond Beach Hotel and Casino, MGM Grand Darwin and SkyCity Darwin. Delaware North is the operator named in the current record.

• 12 December 1985

  Adelaide Casino opened on 12 December 1985, by secondary sources, in the heritage-listed Adelaide railway station building on North Terrace. It is now known commercially as SkyCity Adelaide, with Eos by SkyCity attached to the present hotel story.

• 30 December 1985 and 8 April 1988

  Crown Perth opened on 30 December 1985 as Burswood Island Casino, by secondary sources. The wider complex was officially opened on 8 April 1988. Today the Perth house is recorded under Crown Perth at Burswood.

• 30 June 1994 and 8 May 1997

  Crown Melbourne’s temporary World Trade Centre casino opened on 30 June 1994, and the permanent Southbank complex opened on 8 May 1997, both by secondary sources. The casino licence was granted to Crown Melbourne Limited on 19 November 1993.

• 13 September 1995 and 27 November 1997

  The Star Sydney began with a temporary casino on 13 September 1995 and a permanent Pyrmont house on 27 November 1997, by Wikipedia. The current licence remains suspended, with the manager’s appointment extended to 30 June 2027 unless ended earlier by the NICC.

• 1 December 2020 and 28 December 2020

  Eos by SkyCity opened on 1 December 2020 according to a SkyCity market release, adding a 120-room hotel to Adelaide. Crown Sydney’s hotel was officially inaugurated on 28 December 2020; its casino opened in August 2022 after the blocked December 2020 opening.

• 25 August 2024 and 29 August 2024

  Treasury Brisbane casino closed at midnight on Sunday 25 August 2024. The Star Brisbane began its staged opening at Queen’s Wharf on 29 August 2024, with The Star Grand, Sky Deck, Event Centre and gaming floors in the opening record.

How to read this chronology

This page is a dated guide to the ten houses covered on this site, not a complete history of Australian gambling law or of every casino in the country. I have kept to the dates supplied in the working record: openings, known former names where the record gives them, licence and ownership changes where they affect today’s house, and closures where a building has ceased to be part of the live roster.

The order is chronological, beginning with Wrest Point, which the official record calls Australia’s first ever casino and which secondary sources date to 10 February 1973. Where a date comes from Wikipedia or another secondary source rather than an official venue or regulator page, I say so in the timeline entry. Where a venue’s own pages do not publish a room total, opening date, operator wording or casino figure, I do not supply one from memory.

The broader ranking of the ten houses is separate. It weighs story and building, the stay as published, setting, transparency, and continuity of operation; the method is set out in how the houses are ranked. This page is only the spine of dates behind those essays, and it should be read beside the comparison if you want the present-day operator, state and room notes in one place.

The older houses and the resort age

The first pattern is Tasmanian and territorial: a waterfront tower at Sandy Bay, a parkland resort at Prospect Vale, houses at Alice Springs and Darwin, and then larger urban complexes in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney. The dates are uneven because the sources are uneven. Wrest Point’s official pages give the strong claim, while the exact February date is secondary. Country Club Tasmania is called Australia’s third oldest casino on its own pages, but its 1982 opening year is secondary. Lasseters and Mindil Beach likewise depend on secondary sources for their early dates and former names.

The Perth and Adelaide entries show how quickly the model broadened beyond a gaming room. Crown Perth began, by secondary sources, as Burswood Island Casino on 30 December 1985, with the wider complex officially opened on 8 April 1988. Adelaide Casino opened on 12 December 1985 in the heritage-listed railway station building, and the later SkyCity record adds Eos by SkyCity as the 120-room hotel opened on 1 December 2020 according to a SkyCity market release.

Melbourne and Sydney then arrive as larger city complexes. Crown Melbourne’s permanent Southbank complex opened on 8 May 1997, after a temporary World Trade Centre casino dated 30 June 1994 by secondary sources. The Star Sydney’s temporary casino opened on 13 September 1995 and its permanent Pyrmont house on 27 November 1997, also by secondary sources. For the current ten essays in ranking order, I keep the live roster at all ten essays.

Recent breaks, new towers and closed rooms

The recent dates matter because they change how a traveller should describe the buildings. Crown Sydney’s hotel was officially inaugurated on 28 December 2020, while its casino opened in August 2022 after ILGA blocked the December 2020 opening; the NICC record then notes that its conditional gaming period ended on 30 April 2024 and that, on 23 April 2024, Crown Sydney was found suitable to give effect to its licence and the Act.

Brisbane is the clearest case of a break in continuity. Treasury Brisbane casino closed at midnight on Sunday 25 August 2024, and this site treats it as history only. The Star Brisbane began its staged opening on 29 August 2024 at Queen’s Wharf, with the gaming floors from 2pm and Sky Deck from 5pm according to the opening record. The official ownership and operator wording is careful: The Star also manages The Star Brisbane, on behalf of the Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC) owned by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises (CTFE) and Far East Consortium International (FEC).

There are also regulatory dates that belong in the traveller’s field of view without becoming the whole story. The Star Sydney’s licence remains suspended; the manager’s appointment has been extended to 30 June 2027, unless terminated earlier by the NICC. SkyCity announced on 30 September 2026 that it would shortly commence a formal sale process for the Adelaide business, with no certainty of a transaction or other outcome.

What this timeline leaves out

I have not added architects, construction anecdotes, unverified room totals, or old restaurant lists that do not appear in the present record. Some properties publish extensive current material on rooms, pools, venues and access; others leave gaps, or are visible only through secondary sources, market releases and regulator statements. Those gaps are part of the record, and they affect transparency in the site’s scoring.

The national setting also limits what this website is and is not. Australia bans online casino play under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, and the houses discussed here are physical venues. Casino entry is 18+ in every state and territory. I write about hotels, buildings and stays; I do not present gambling as a reason to travel, and this site does not provide casino access.

If a date below changes the practical question of where to sleep, I point to the relevant house essay: Crown Sydney for the Barangaroo licence record, The Star Brisbane for the Queen’s Wharf move, and SkyCity Adelaide and Eos for the sale-process note. For state entry rules and regulators, use the by state page.