Casino Canberra is poised to break the video poker machine (pokies) monopoly held by Australian Capital Territory (ACT) clubs.

On Thursday, ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay filed legislation that will allow Casino Canberra to add 200 pokies as well as 60 fully-automated table games. While the pokies number is less than the 500 machines the casino had originally requested, Ramsay’s move is highly controversial, given that pokies are considered the sole domain of local clubs.

Ramsay has attempted to mollify the clubs by imposing a mandatory pre-commitment scheme on the casino pokies while sparing the clubs the same restrictions. Casino pokies players will have to declare upfront how much money they’re prepared to lose over a 24-hour period. Casino pokies will also be subjected to a $5m-per-spin limit, half the rate allowed on the clubs’ pokies.

The casino will also face a more punitive pokies forfeiture rate. Clubs looking to add new pokies must buy them from other clubs, and must forfeit one of every four pokies purchased this way. The forfeiture is part of the ACT government’s plan to reduce the overall number of pokies from its current level of 5,000 to 4,000 by 2020.