NSW clubs and RSLs are building on-site retirement villages, daycare centres and hotels using special exemptions from planning laws granted by the state government in a push to diversify from their dependency on poker machine profits.

The Sun-Herald has identified more than 20 clubs in NSW with developments either planned or underway, in a construction race worth hundreds of millions of dollars, prompting some critics to warn of the dangers of co-locating homes for the elderly with pokies venues.

"To have [elderly people] living next to predatory and addictive gambling machines is not a good social outcome," said northern beaches councillor Pat Daley, who has campaigned against the spread of poker machines in the area.

Clubs and RSLs are looking to diversify from poker machine profits - but critics say their plans endanger the elderly. Credit:Brendan Esposito

Sports clubs and RSLs are using a fast-track to rezoning, known as a Site Compatibility Certificate (SCC), to get approval for developments, which can go well beyond what local planning rules allow, such as height limits. These SCCs are made without community involvement or notification of neighbours.