Habitual gambling scold Nick Xenophon’s political party has waved the white flag, concluding its war against poker machines in pubs and clubs.

InDaily reported that the SA Best party will no longer push for the total ban of pokies in pubs and clubs despite an earlier declaration of Xenophon that the Australian Hotels Association will tremble before the party’s pokies policy.

This was confirmed by Xenophon’s candidate for Schubert, Paul Brown, at a state election on the future of South Australia’s Mental Health sector early this week, saying that banning pokies in hotel venues was not a realistic ambition.