The city of Wyndham will see more poker machines introduced, in spite of the fact that local council and residents’ fierce objection against the roll-out.
The Government of Premier Daniel Andrews has officially allowed to the city of Wyndham to add 80 more machines to its gambling landscape. The addition will bring the overall number of pokies there to almost 1,000.
As mentioned above, the decision of the Andrews Government has faced fierce opposition from both the residents of the city and the city council members. ALP Councillor Josh Gilligan even urged the Government to reconsider the situation and turn back the decision. Councillor Gilligan insisted that such a step would turn Wyndham into the second most pokies entitlement-saturated area in the state of Victoria.
Mr. Gilligan also reminded that there are already over 900 electronic gaming terminals (EGTs) in the city and that local residents have spent a massive amount of AU$105.5 million on these pokies in 2017/2018. This is exactly why he called for the major political parties to take more actions and address the problems with the record levels of gambling-related harm which has been inflicted to local communities.
Mayor of Wyndham Has Backed The Alliance for Gambling Reform
The decision to boost the number of electronic gaming terminals (also known as poker machines, or pokies) in the city of Wyndham follows the permission given to the Werribee Football Club to add ten more terminals to its Hoppers Crossing gambling facility.
However, Wyndham has been having a serious problem with excessive gambling and gambling-related harm. Over the final six months of 2017, a 5.62% increase in player losses on poker machines was registered, with that percentage rate being the highest one across the state of Victoria.
The constantly rising number of people affected by gambling addiction has caused a lot of concern among local authorities. Back in July 2018, the mayors of five major councils in Victoria joined a group which has called for a massive reform in the regulation of so-called pokies. At that time, the group, called The Alliance for Gambling Reform, was joined by the mayors of Wyndham, Whittlesea, Darebin, Yarra and Moreland and pledged to help its leader Tim Costello in his efforts to fix the problems associated with poker machine addictions.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has been one of the most eager opponents of pokies in Victoria, urging the Government to take proactive measures to tackle gambling-related harm. Earlier this year, the organisation rolled out a number of policies which it is to follow. It also called for a reduction to the maximum bet limits on poker machines in Victoria from AU$5 to AU$1, as well as a reduction to the late trading hours for local pubs which offer pokies.
- Author
Olivia Cole
