PUNTERS in Melbourne’s inner west are feeling the pinch of pokies losses more than anywhere else in Victoria, as new research reveals they’re gambling away the highest proportion of their income.
In the federal seat of Maribyrnong, which takes in Maribyrnong, Braybrook, St Albans, Sunshine, Keilor and Moonee Ponds, an estimated 20,519 pokies users lost about $6700 each in the 2010-11 financial year, a Monash University study states.
The losses totalled more than a quarter of the area’s median adult income – the highest in the state.
UnitingCare Australia, which funded the report, is lobbying for greater consumer protection in the $2.6billion industry, after the report found some of the heaviest gaming losses were in the state’s most disadvantaged areas.
The study also showed pokies venues were spending less than they were required to on charitable and community groups in areas with the highest losses.
While punters in Maribyrnong poured more than $137million into the area’s 1115 poker machines in 2010-11, venue operators gave $5,549,566 to community organisations – less than 5percent of pokies losses.
In Victoria, punters poured about $2.6 billion, an average of $701 per adult, into poker machines over the period. In contrast, the state’s clubs donated $62.8 million to community and charitable groups, amounting to 2.4 per cent of losses.
Gambling health expert Charles Livingstone, who led the study, said Victorian venues were required to give at least 8percent of pokies losses to ‘community-benefit’ organisations.
He said charitable contributions in Melbourne’s inner west were “minuscule” compared with profits made by venues, and were an “extremely inefficient and high-cost method of funding community activities”.
“Community benefits claimed by poker machine operators do not offset the social and economic impact to any serious degree, if at all,” he said.
Clubs Victoria executive director Richard Evans criticised the report, saying it ignored not-for-profit clubs’ investment into social and community assets.
He said these clubs put their pokies money into things like watering of ovals, and lighting for netball and tennis courts, “all of which are conveniently overlooked”.
Mr Evans said only 10percent of money raised from pokies was distributed between the government, gaming operators and venues.
“The other 90percent goes back to the punters. The hotels provide their 8percent to the government and it’s distributed broadly.”
Mr Livingstone acknowledged the study didn’t take into account “operating expenses”, which could be claimed by Victorian clubs as a community benefit.
