New South Wales players lost US$1.41bn on gaming machines in Q1, study finds
There are 87,789 electronic gaming machines in operation.
Australia.- A report by Wesley Mission has found that gamblers lost AU$2.17bn (US$1.41bn) on gaming machines in New South Wales (NSW) in the first quarter of the year. That’s an increase of 5.7 per cent in year-on-year terms and equates to over AU$24m (US$15.58m) per day, or AU$1m (US$0.65m) an hour.
The report said that some communities are seeing average losses of more than AU$3,200 per person annually. In Fairfield, the average loss is AU$3,255 (US$2,113). In Burwood-Strathfield, it’s AU$2,511 (US$1,630) and in Cumberland AU$2,180 (US$1,415).
Wesley Mission urged the government to enforce the closure of gambling machines between midnight and 10 am, introduce mandatory cashless gaming, and impose tighter caps on machine numbers in high-risk communities.
Wesley Mission CEO and leading gambling reform advocate, Rev Stu Cameron, said: “The government is still bending to the will of powerful clubs and hotel groups while everyday people and families are being financially and emotionally crushed. This is the epitome of policy paralysis.
“The industry is thriving, people are significantly harmed and the government keeps talking of ‘reform’ while the damage escalates. This inaction is a gift to the industry.”
NSW currently has 87,789 gaming machines across clubs, hotels and the Star Casino in Sydney. In March, the government dropped its plan to phase out 9,500 gaming machines following recommendations from an independent panel on gambling policy, which included representatives from Clubs NSW and the Australian Hotels Association and stakeholders in harm minimisation. The panel’s report indicated that a buyback scheme would be expensive and should be voluntary if pursued.
During a parliamentary hearing, NSW minister for aboriginal affairs and treaty, gaming and racing David Harris said at the time: “What we found is, it’s not the number of machines that’s the issue, it’s the intensity of play. The State could pay AU$60m (US$37.2m) to remove those machines and make no difference other than take AU$60m out of the budget that could’ve been spent on harm minimisation.”
