The plan - put forward by Hong Kong-based Aquis Entertainment, which bought the ageing Canberra Casino last year - demonstrates faith in Canberra's future. The proponents predict the new casino could attract almost 750,000 visitors a year to Canberra and, while that seems a stretch, it undoubtedly would bring more people.

The company believes the project can deliver up to 420 ongoing jobs in the casino and entertainment precinct and 200 jobs in construction, while generating more than $60 million a year in taxes for the government. That would be a handy amount of revenue for a jurisdiction that is committed to building a light rail system and is raising rates sharply.

The sting in the tail of this plan is the casino wants poker machines. It says, quite openly and bluntly, the entire plan is dependent on being able to break the long-standing ban on poker machines in the Canberra casino. You "can't have a supermarket that doesn't sell eggs or milk", is the graphic argument put forward by the Aquis managing director.

It would be understandable if the community's initial response to this request-cum-demand is astonishment – that is, don't we have enough poker machines in the territory already? The biggest pokies owner is the Tuggeranong Rugby Union Club, with 704 machines as at the end of last month. The Southern Cross Club had 680 machines and the Canberra Labor Club, owned by the Labor Party, had 488 machines.

Canberra Casino was licensed with the proviso it would not have poker machines and is the only casino in Australia with this restriction. The former operator repeatedly asked for the ban to be lifted to improve the venue's financial viability but the ACT Government's response has always been the same – no dice.

Since a brand new casino is proposed, and will be a boost to the ACT economy, the new operators can plausibly argue the new situation demands a fresh response. That is a valid case, but it has two huge obstacles to clear.

The first is community opposition to even more poker machines. The second is the Labor Party-dominated ACT government. Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has likened ACT Labor's reliance on poker machine revenue to an "intravenous drip" and a "fundamental conflict of interest".

The Labor Party has long insisted there is no conflict of interest between its association with the Labor Club and its ability to make laws governing clubs and poker machines. However one former leader, Jon Stanhope, has been fighting – unsuccessfully – for the party to sell the clubs and sever its reliance on gambling money.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr says he is willing to consider ending the ban on pokies at the Canberra Casino as part of the $330 million development. Will he be brave enough to lift the ban, and possibly reduce gambling revenue to the ALP, or risk being called a hypocrite?