Latest reports have shown that the poker machine losses of New South Wales (NSW) residents in six months in 2022 amounted to AU$4.3 billion – a figure that is considerably larger than the overall losses recorded before the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to data that was released by the NSW gambling regulatory body earlier this week, the last six months of 2022 saw local punters pouring billions into controversial pokies while lawmakers were considering ways to reform the state’s gambling sector. The data provided by the Liquor and Gaming NSW covers poker machine profits in local clubs in the period from June to November 2022, and in local pubs in the period from July to December 2022.
The overall number of pokies in New South Wales reached 86,872 after more than 220 new poker machines were installed across local venues in the aforementioned six-month period. The machines saw an 11% increase in their total net profits that reached AU$4.26 billion – a figure that is 24% higher than the AU$3.44-billion net profit registered in the second half of 2019, right before the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.
Sydney’s Fairfield Suburb remains the local area featuring the highest net profit for pokies hosted in clubs, with a net profit of AU$225 million registered over the period. It was followed by Canterbury-Bankstown with a poker machine net profit of AU$204 million, and Cumberland that saw pokies bring a net profit worth AU$133 million.
According to the Liquor and Gaming NSW’s report, the 615 pokies hosted at the Mounties social club at Mount Pritchard were the most profitable in the state.
NSW Clubs and Pubs Remain Major Contributors to Net Poker Machine Profit
The aforementioned report revealed a significant increase in gaming profits across the state of New South Wales since before the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a drastic 120% increase in gaming profits since the same time in 2021. According to the local gambling regulator, the continuous growth could be partly attributed to patrons who returned to clubs and pubs after the coronavirus-related lockdowns, and to the fact that pokies that were offline during the Covid-19 crisis were switched back on.
The state’s gambling watchdog revealed that clubs’ profits increased by about AU$300 million over the period, while the pubs’ profits rose by more than AU$400 million.
New South Wales was preparing for a major gambling reform at the time when Premier Dominic Perrottet was voted out of power in March 2023. The former Premier had been seeking to introduce cashless gambling systems aimed at reducing criminal activity associated with NSW clubs and pubs and tackling problem gambling and gambling-related harm in the state. Under his plan, a piece of legislation seeking to implement a staged transition to universal cashless gambling in the four-year period from 2024 to 2028 was set to be introduced, with Mr Perrottet claiming that the measure would protect jobs and save lives.
The new Labour Government, however, preferred to adopt a more relaxed policy and promised to establish an independent experts panel to oversee an expanded 12-month trial of cashless gaming before further action was taken. It also made a promise to reduce the feed-in limit for new pokies in New South Wales to AU$500, to suspend external signage promoting gambling, including VIP customer-targeting signage, and cut short the overall number of poker machines across the state.
- Author
Daniel Williams
