An average of about $6000 an hour was lost at the pokies in Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay in the six months to December.
Latest figures from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation reveal $27.6million was fed into Maribyrnong’s 415 machines, a modest drop from the 2013-14 figure of $27.7million.
Hobsons Bay gamblers lost $24.25million on 596 machines, down from $24.8million.
Chairman of the Victorian InterChurch Gambling Taskforce, Mark Zirnsak, is calling for machines to be restricted to allow losses of only $1 per button push and for gaming venues to close from midnight to 10am.
He said venue operators sought to place machines where they could make the most profit, which had resulted in machines concentrated in areas with higher concentrations of vulnerable people.
Dr Zirnsak said the taskforce believed local councils should have the ability to reject increases in machine numbers and refuse to allow machines to be placed elsewhere if a venue closed or reduced the number of machines.
“It gives greater respect to the local community’s wishes and means venues must persuade the community that there are benefits from pokies and that the level of harm is acceptable.”
Three former pokies venues in Maribyrnong have either closed or no longer have gaming machines.
In Maribyrnong, the highest losses were at the Yarraville Club Cricket Club ($7million), which is open to 3am, followed by Braybrook’s Ashley Hotel ($4.9million), open to 5am, and Highpoint Taverner ($3.6million), open to 2am.
Millers Inn Hotel in Altona North, open to 5am, recorded the highest revenue in Hobsons Bay ($7.1million) followed by Seagulls Nest at Newport ($3.6million), open to 3am.
Club Laverton was third on the list with $3million.
Last year, Hobsons Bay council refused to grant Carlton Football Club a permit to extend the opening hours of Club Laverton to 3am.
Hobsons Bay’s then-deputy mayor Colleen Gates said extended hours were inconsistent with the council’s planning policies, which aim to prevent alcohol and gambling-related issues.
She said people could travel a short distance to Wyndham hotels, which had longer opening hours.
