Victorian residents are spending more money on electronic gaming machines, reporting the second-highest losses since these games were first introduced. Gamblers across the state have lost nearly AU$2.7 billion in the 2018-19 financial year, new statistics reveal.
This is a 0.13 per cent increase on losses recorded for 2017-18, which seems insignificant, yet it translates to approximately $3.5 million. The data was released this week by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation and according to the numbers, residents of Greater Dandenong have lost the most – $907 on average per adult, followed by the average losses of $879 per adult in Brimbank and $754 in Latrobe.
The total gaming expenditure for the State of Victoria in the period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019 is $2,698,707,179. These massive losses are only slightly lower than what has been registered as an all-time record in the 2008-09 fiscal year when pokie players lost $2.707 billion in multiple venues across the state. The latest figures reveal that on average, adults have lost $530 in the past financial year.
Each July, the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) publishes the annual gaming expenditure statistics for the previous fiscal period. The Victorian government’s regulatory body for gambling also includes venue information, including the expenditure data and the number of electronic gaming machines in every club and hotel. From July 2018 to the end of June this year, there were 495 pokie venues each hosting anything from 5 to 105 gaming machines. The place where people lost the most was the Epping Plaza Hotel in the City of Whittlesea. It reported astounding expenditure levels of over $20.2 million.
Greatest Total Losses Recorded in Brimbank Council Area
The latest statistics on pokie losses in Victoria reveal that it is not the venues in large cities that drained the most money from gamblers but those located in suburbs. The greatest total losses for 2018-19 were recorded in the Brimbank local council area, which is within the metropolitan area of Melbourne. The pokie expenditure there was $142.9 million, much higher than the losses elsewhere.
The other council areas where pokie losses exceeded $100 million were Casey, Greater Geelong, Greater Dandenong, Hume, Whittlesea, Monash and Wyndham. They were followed by Kingston and Melbourne. Being home to 100 pokies, the Epping Plaza Hotel in Whittlesea was the venue with the highest losses at $20.2 million but several other venues also won an impressive amount of money from the gaming machines they hosted.
The Berwick Springs Hotel in the City of Casey reported nearly $19.7 million in pokie expenditures, followed by the Plough Hotel in Whittlesea with $19.55 million and the Kealba Hotel venue in Brimbank with $19.25 million.
The monetary losses, however, are only one aspect of the gambling problem in the state, according to pokie opponents. Rev Tim Costello, a spokesman for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, immediately commented on the statistics published by the VCGLR, saying that often, playing pokies results in compulsive gambling.
The gambling-related harm could come in the form of loss of family, relationship issues, financial ruin, loss of job and home, and even suicide. According to Rev Costello, the State’s government should approach gambling as a public health issue similar to smoking.
- Author
Daniel Williams
