Millions of punters will be able to gamble on the traditional game of two-up during the entire Anzac Day long weekend for the first time.
The game, famously played by Australian troops during World War I, is banned except on April 25 each year – other than in the Outback town of Broken Hill – as it’s classed as unregulated gambling.
But NSW will temporarily lift the ban to allow two-up to be legally played in pubs, clubs, and elsewhere across the entire three-day weekend of April 24-26.
The one-off aims to give back to veterans who missed out during the Covid-19 pandemic at the biggest Anzac Day commemoration since 2019.
Two-up can be played at pubs and clubs across NSW during the entire Anzac Day long weekend. Pictured are punters playing in Sydney on Anzac Day last year
‘This year not only marks the first year since the Australian Defence Force’s withdrawal from Afghanistan but is also the first time, since 2019, that veterans will be able to reconnect with mates to attend their annual reunions free of restrictions,’ NSW veterans minister David Elliott said.
‘These Anzac Day events are vital for the welfare of our vets, and many of them were very distressed by missing or inhibiting commemorations over the past two years, so the NSW government is giving them their two days back.’
Mr Elliott lifted the two-up ban for three days instead of one as an incentive for veterans to return to commemorations.
‘The game synonymous with diggers and veterans, with Anzac Day and Gallipoli,’ he told 2GB radio on Monday.
‘Given we had no Anzac Day two years ago and heavy restrictions last year, my view was that we give them those two days back.
‘There is no excuse for our veterans not to recover for lost time. It’s a day for the veterans.’
Full-scale and restriction-free Anzac Day celebrations are back for the first time since 2019 (pictured, two-up is played at the Royal Hotel in Sydney’s Paddington in 2021)
Coogee-Randwick RSL branch secretary and army veteran Ben James said local RSL sub-branches welcomed the move.
‘As the next generation of the RSL, it’s important to me that traditions like these continue to foster camaraderie and mateship among veterans and the communities we live in,’ he told the Sunday Telegraph.
With no restrictions on hospitality venues, the CBD march itself, or travel, thousands are expected to pack Sydney’s Martin Place for the traditional Dawn Service.
There will be free public transport for veterans and their families as part of two weeks of fee-free travel from Sydney commuters.
Veterans will also get free entry to Royal Randwick and the traditional Anzac Day clash between Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra Dragons at the SCG.
It’s unclear whether other states will follow suit in permitting two-up across the whole three-day weekend.
The NSW minister lifted the ban on two-up to give back to veterans who have missed out on commemorations in recent years due to Covid (pictured, veterans taking part in the traditional CBD march)
Australian soldiers regularly played the coin toss betting game in trenches and on troopships during World War I, after it was originally played by immigrants and convicts in the 1850s goldfields.
The game involves a designated ‘spinner’ who throws two coins or pennies into the air as players bet on whether the coins will land on heads or tails.
Full-scale Anzac Day commemorations without any restrictions will be held for the first time in three days.
Commemorations were restricted to televised services only and no marches for the first time in more than a century in 2020 due to onset of Covid, where thousands paid their respects at home in driveway dawn commemorations.
Services and marches returned with limited crowds in most parts of the country in 2021, except for Perth and the surrounding Peel region which were plunged into a snap lockdown sparked by a hotel quarantine outbreak.
The traditional Anzac Day in Martin Place (pictured in 2019) will also be back to full capacity
NSW will also honour Middle East veterans in the commemorations.
‘Anzac Day is a time for the NSW community to come together and pay tribute to all members and veterans of the Australian Defence Force who have followed in the Anzac’s footsteps – soldiers, sailors and air force personnel – for their service and sacrifice,’ RSL NSW President Ray James said.
This year marks the 107th anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli during World War I, a campaign which ultimately cost more than 8,700 Australian lives.
Thousand of punter and veterans take part in two-up each year, a coin famously game played by Australian troops during World War I (pictured, Sydneysiders watching two-up in 2021)
