Neither club will say how many poker machines were involved in the sale. In December 2015, the government released figures showing the Labor Club had bought 20 machines from the Italian club, but it appears there might have been a second deal between the clubs.

The Labor Club annual report for 2015-16 lists a payment to the Italian club for $528,000 for gaming licences.

Neither club would say how many machines had been traded, nor make any comment. The Labor Club would not return calls.

The Italo-Australian club had 60 poker machines at the beginning of the financial year and no active machines at the end, although it has some in storage that it is now applying to put back on the floor. Labor had 488 at the beginning of the financial year and 489 at the end, so also presumably has some in storage.

Clubs have been tight-lipped about prices in the Canberra market since the ACT government legalised the buying and selling of licences in mid 2015.

One industry source suggests an average price of about $15,000 per machine, well under the figures of $50,000 or more that were spoken about in the early days of the trading scheme.

The price is keenly watched because the casino is soon expected to buy 267 machines from the city's clubs, a deal that will be worth millions of dollars to clubs that trade.

The government has given in-principle support for up to 200 poker machines in the casino, and legislation to allow that is expected in the second half of this year. Under the trading scheme, one machine is forfeited for every four that are bought, so the casino will have to buy 267 machines to operate 200, forfeited 67 licences.

The casino deal is complicated by the government's plans to set in place a compulsory reduction in machine numbers, forcing clubs to get rid of machines by 2020 to bring numbers from nearly 5000 to 4000. To avoid getting caught up in that forced reduction, the casino will need to wait till the details are in place before it starts buying machines. The forced reduction also puts the negotiating cards in the hand of the casino, which might be the only willing buyer as clubs are forced to cut back.

Last year, the Tradies club was widely believed to be working on a deal to buy up machines from small clubs to package for sale to the casino, given the government wants small clubs to benefit from the sale.

The Labor Club annual report shows that 80 per cent per cent of the club's income comes from its 489 poker machines. The club made $24.4 million from the machines in 2015-16, which is close to $500,000 a week.

It made $6 million from other sources, presumably food and drink.

The Labor Clubs are operated by the Labor Party, with six of the nine directors appointed by the Labor Club's annual conference in June. Wayne Berry, long-term Labor parliamentarian and father of deputy chief minister Yvette Berry, is on the board.

The club group's profits fell in the 2015-16 year, from a profit of $2.4 million in 2014-15, to $940,000 million in 2015-16. Gambling revenue was down from $29 million in 2013-14, to $25.1 million in 2014-15, and $24.4 million in 2015-16.

In the annual report, president Mark Nelson said the profit result was "solid" despite "tougher trading conditions impacting upon our club and the general downturn experienced across the industry".

The club was continuing to work on diversifying the group's revenue, including building a 36-unit apartment block in Braddon, which is in construction now, building a 90-room hotel next to the club in Belconnen and negotiating public carparking in Belconnen.