MONA Casino, nicknamed Monaco, is a proposed luxury gaming venue by Museum of Old and New Art founder David Walsh. The project represents a radical departure from traditional casino models, emphasizing ethical gambling practices and architectural excellence.
The MONA Casino project represents one of the most ambitious and ethically-driven gaming proposals in Australian history. Conceived by professional gambler and Museum of Old and New Art founder David Walsh, the casino nicknamed Monaco challenges conventional gambling industry practices by prioritizing harm minimization over profit maximization. Walsh's vision emerged from his personal gambling experience and a deep understanding of addiction mechanisms, particularly those associated with poker machines.
In September 2015, David Walsh publicly announced plans to establish a casino at MONA as part of a $200 million development portfolio. Unlike traditional casinos that rely heavily on poker machines for revenue, Walsh proposed a fundamentally different model: a poker machine-free venue with only 12 table games, high betting limits, and complete exclusion of Tasmanian residents. This proposal immediately sparked debate about gambling ethics, monopoly practices, and the future of Tasmania's gaming industry.
The project's significance extends beyond gaming. Walsh views the casino as a financial mechanism to secure MONA's long-term sustainability while maintaining his principled opposition to poker machines, which he describes as devices designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities. His approach reflects a rare intersection of commercial gambling operations and social responsibility, positioning the casino as both a luxury destination and an architectural landmark worth visiting regardless of gaming interest.
David Walsh's opposition to poker machines stems from both personal experience and scientific understanding. In his writings, he articulates a clear distinction between different forms of gambling, arguing that poker machines represent a unique moral hazard due to their design and accessibility. Walsh references animal behavior studies showing that direct brain stimulation causes subjects to ignore basic needs like food and sex in favor of continued stimulation, drawing parallels to the psychological mechanisms exploited by electronic gaming machines.
Walsh advocates for what he calls the Vegas or Macau model, where gambling requires travel and occurs within a limited timeframe. This approach naturally restricts gambling frequency and creates a clear separation between entertainment budgets and daily living expenses. Vacationers visit these destinations periodically, spend their allocated entertainment funds, and return home to save for the next trip. This temporal and geographic separation provides a natural brake on problem gambling that constant access to local poker machines eliminates.
The distinction between table games and poker machines is central to Walsh's casino concept. Table games involve social interaction, skill elements, and slower play rates that allow for reflection and decision-making. Poker machines, by contrast, enable rapid, solitary play where the gambler controls the frequency of stimulation through button presses. This design creates what Walsh considers an invitation to addiction, particularly when combined with sensory manipulation through lights and sounds that disguise financial losses as near-wins.
Mexican architect Javier Senosiain was commissioned to design the MONA Casino, bringing his distinctive organic architecture style to the project. Known for works reminiscent of Gaudi and Hundertwasser, Senosiain's design features sculptural curves and integration with the natural landscape, creating what Walsh describes as an alternative to the typical closed edifices of steel and gloss that characterize most casinos.
The casino design incorporates open gardens spilling over the River Derwent, creating visual and spatial connections between the building and its waterfront setting. Walsh emphasized that the venue must function at a level beyond that of a cash palace, possessing architectural and artistic merit sufficient to justify visits independent of gambling activities. This approach aligns with MONA's broader philosophy of creating culturally significant spaces that challenge conventional expectations.
The casino forms part of a larger development including a 160-room hotel dubbed HOMO (Hotel MONA), designed to make a bold statement that would shout where MONA whispered. The hotel will feature rooms designed by internationally renowned artists including Marina Abramovic, James Turrell, and Brigita Ozolins, along with a library, function centre, restaurant, bar, retail spaces, and spa facilities. A gallery extension specifically designed to house James Turrell installations completes the cultural complex.
The path to licensing MONA Casino has been complicated by Federal Group's existing monopoly over Tasmanian gaming operations. Since 1968, when a referendum approved Wrest Point Casino as a poker machine-free, high-roller, tourist-attracting venue, Federal Group has controlled casino licensing across Tasmania. The company now operates 1,185 poker machines across two venues, representing a significant departure from the original poker machine-free promise.
Federal Group's exclusive gaming licence was set to expire in 2023, creating an opportunity for alternative licensing arrangements. However, negotiations revealed the possibility that Federal Group could retain exclusivity over poker machine operations even if casino licensing opened to competition. Walsh publicly stated he would not proceed with the casino if its licence became conditional on Federal Group maintaining an unrestricted poker machine monopoly with licence extension.
The Tasmanian gaming landscape has been dominated by Federal Group's monopoly since 1968, controlling both casino operations and poker machine licensing across the state. The proposed MONA Casino challenges this structure by seeking a high-roller licence that would operate under fundamentally different principles, targeting international arts patrons rather than local gamblers.
Under the 2020 consultation paper released by the Tasmanian Government, MONA would be offered a non-resident high-roller casino licence, with potential for a similar venue in northern Tasmania. The licensing framework requires meeting strict probity and financial requirements while maintaining harm-minimization standards that align with Walsh's ethical gambling philosophy.
The Tasmanian Government's 2020 consultation paper on future gaming policy indicated that MONA would be offered a high-roller licence in line with its 2015 proposal, subject to meeting probity and financial requirements. The paper specified that neither MONA's southern casino nor a potential northern high-roller venue would be permitted to operate poker machines. Additionally, the Federal Group's poker machine monopoly would be broken up, allowing pubs and clubs to licence electronic gaming machines directly from 2023 rather than through Federal Group.
Federal Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who has campaigned extensively against poker machines, accused Federal Group of blackmail when the company suggested a $70 million refurbishment of a Roy Grounds-designed casino would not proceed without certainty over licence extension. Walsh's proposal gained support from harm-minimization advocates who viewed the non-resident, poker machine-free model as a responsible alternative to expanding local gambling access. However, concerns remained about inadvertent complicity in monopoly extension and the precedent set by luxury gambling venues.
MONA Casino's operational model differs fundamentally from conventional Australian casinos. The venue would feature only 12 gaming tables with high minimum and maximum betting limits, targeting wealthy international arts patrons rather than local gamblers. This approach aligns with Walsh's belief that gambling should require travel and occur within a tourism context rather than as a routine local activity.
A defining feature of the MONA Casino proposal is the complete exclusion of Tasmanian residents from gambling activities. This restriction addresses Walsh's primary ethical concern: preventing the casino from contributing to local problem gambling. By limiting access to interstate and international visitors, the venue operates as a destination attraction rather than a community gambling facility. This model mirrors regulations in some international jurisdictions where local residents are prohibited from casino access.
All casino revenue would flow to MONA and related cultural projects, creating a direct link between gaming profits and arts funding. Walsh has emphasized that while the casino would strengthen MONA's financial position, the museum would not close if the casino failed to proceed. This statement addresses concerns that MONA's cultural mission might become dependent on gambling revenue, maintaining the museum's independence while pursuing the casino as a supplementary funding mechanism.
The MONA Casino concept challenges multiple assumptions underlying conventional casino operations. Traditional casinos maximize revenue through high-volume, low-stakes gambling facilitated by poker machines, which generate the majority of gaming profits in most Australian venues. MONA's model inverts this approach, emphasizing low-volume, high-stakes table games that appeal to a narrow demographic of wealthy visitors.
Walsh's approach incorporates harm minimization at the conceptual level rather than as an afterthought or regulatory compliance measure. By eliminating poker machines, restricting local access, and limiting the number of gaming positions, the design inherently reduces gambling volume and accessibility. The integration of cultural attractions creates alternative activities and motivations for visiting, positioning gambling as one element within a broader arts tourism experience rather than the primary draw.
Critics have questioned whether a 12-table, poker machine-free casino can generate sufficient revenue to justify the investment and operational costs. Traditional casino economics rely on poker machine density and turnover, with table games representing a smaller revenue share despite higher individual bet sizes. MONA's model requires attracting high-net-worth individuals willing to gamble significant sums, a market segment that faces intense international competition from established destinations like Macau, Singapore, and Las Vegas.
As of the latest available information, the MONA Casino project remains in a state of regulatory and political uncertainty. While the 2020 government consultation paper indicated willingness to offer a licence, final approval depends on resolving complex issues around monopoly arrangements, poker machine licensing, and harm minimization frameworks. Walsh's stated position that he will not proceed under certain conditions adds further complexity to the negotiation process.
Regardless of whether MONA Casino proceeds, the proposal has significantly influenced public discourse about gambling in Tasmania. Walsh's high-profile opposition to poker machines and advocacy for alternative models has strengthened harm minimization arguments and challenged the normalization of electronic gaming machines in community venues. The debate has exposed tensions between gambling revenue dependence, monopoly practices, and social responsibility that extend beyond the specific casino proposal.
Even if the casino never receives licensing approval, Senosiain's architectural designs and the broader development plans contribute to MONA's evolution as a cultural destination. Walsh's emphasis that the casino must possess value beyond its gaming function reflects his consistent approach of creating spaces that challenge expectations and generate discussion. The project exemplifies how gambling venues can be reconceptualized as cultural architecture rather than purely commercial operations.
The MONA Casino project represents a unique intersection of gambling, ethics, architecture, and cultural tourism. David Walsh's proposal challenges conventional casino models by prioritizing harm minimization, architectural excellence, and cultural integration over revenue maximization. The poker machine-free, non-resident model offers a template for responsible luxury gaming that addresses legitimate concerns about gambling addiction while acknowledging that some forms of gambling can function as entertainment within appropriate contexts.
The project's ultimate fate depends on complex regulatory negotiations and political decisions about Tasmania's gaming future. However, its significance extends beyond whether the casino opens. Walsh has demonstrated that gambling venues can be designed with ethical considerations at their core, that architectural ambition can elevate gaming spaces beyond functional cash palaces, and that cultural institutions can engage with gambling revenue without compromising their social responsibility. Whether Monaco becomes reality or remains an unrealized vision, it has already contributed valuable perspectives to ongoing debates about gambling, monopoly, and the relationship between cultural institutions and controversial revenue sources.
MONA Casino would be completely poker machine-free, featuring only 12 table games with high betting limits. It would exclude Tasmanian residents entirely, targeting wealthy international arts patrons instead of local gamblers, and all revenue would support MONA's cultural projects.
Walsh argues that poker machines exploit psychological vulnerabilities similar to direct brain stimulation, causing people to prioritize gambling over basic needs. He believes the rapid play rate, sensory manipulation, and constant accessibility create unique addiction risks that table games do not present.
No. The proposal specifically excludes all Tasmanian residents from gambling activities to prevent contributing to local problem gambling. Only interstate and international visitors would be permitted to use the gaming facilities.
Mexican architect Javier Senosiain designed the casino, bringing his distinctive organic architecture style featuring sculptural curves and natural landscape integration. His work is often compared to Gaudi and Hundertwasser.
As of the latest information, the casino has not received final licensing approval. The 2020 government consultation paper indicated MONA would be offered a licence, but complex negotiations around monopoly arrangements and poker machine licensing continue.
Monaco stands for MONA CasinO, a slightly contrived acronym that references the famous gambling destination while maintaining MONA's tradition of using acronyms for all its projects and facilities.
The proposal specifies exactly 12 gaming tables with high minimum and maximum betting limits. This limited number reflects the focus on low-volume, high-stakes gambling rather than mass-market gaming.
The development includes a 160-room hotel with artist-designed rooms, a James Turrell gallery extension, function centre, restaurant, bar, library, retail spaces, and spa facilities, creating an integrated cultural and hospitality complex.
The MONA Casino project involves collaboration between cultural institutions, architectural firms, and government regulatory bodies to create a responsible gaming destination.
Examining how MONA Casino's design principles prioritize harm minimization through architectural choices, access restrictions, and the elimination of poker machines from the gaming environment.
Exploring the architectural philosophy behind MONA Casino's design, where sculptural forms and natural integration create a gaming venue valued for its artistic merit beyond gambling functionality.
Tasmanian Government released gaming policy consultation paper offering MONA a high-roller licence while breaking up Federal Group's poker machine monopoly from 2023.
David Walsh publicly stated he will not proceed with casino if licence conditions allow Federal Group to maintain unrestricted poker machine monopoly with extension.
MONA revealed Javier Senosiain's organic architecture designs for Monaco casino as part of $200 million development including 160-room hotel and gallery extensions.