Player losses on Victoria slots reach record AU$251m in December
Player losses on Victoria slot machines reached AU$251m in the last month of 2021.
Australia.- The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has reported that player losses on slots, known in Australia as poker machines in Australia, reached AU$251m in December 2021. The record total came after authorities eased Covid-19 restrictions.
The previous record was set in December 2008 when the state recorded AU$250m in electronic gaming machine (EGM) losses. The VGCCC said state residents lost AU$244m in EGMs in January, despite a new outbreak of Covid-19 cases.
The biggest losses were concentrated in the poorest areas, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Relative Socioeconomic Deprivation Index (IRSD), which measures poverty based on factors such as employment and income levels and access to education and services. Five of Victoria’s 79 local governments with poker machines accounted for 25.81 per cent of the state’s poker losses over the past three months.
The city of Brimbank, Melbourne’s second-most disadvantaged local government area and the third-most disadvantaged in the state, recorded the highest losses, Over November, December and January, people lost AU$42m on pokies, with almost AU$15m lost in December alone.
The Alliance for Gambling Reform estimates that nearly 40 per cent of pokie losses come from high-risk gamblers. The problem is not new for Australia. Last December, the Tasmanian Liquor and Gaming Commission revealed that losses on pokies increased from AU$79.5m in 2019-20 to AU$117.3m in 2020-21.
Tim Costello, the Chief Advocate for the Alliance, stated: “Over just 31 days in December, Victorians lost over AU$250m to poker machines. This is by far the most money lost to poker machines in a single month ever – a record that should never have been broken.
“This comes right before January where another AU$222m was lost. It is a sobering reminder of just how dangerous this predatory industry is to our safety and wellbeing.”
Costello added: “Harm prevention measures like universal pre-commitment, reduced opening hours and abolishing losses disguised as wins would have a significant impact in reducing these losses and the harm felt in our state.
“We also need well-resourced educational campaigns aimed at bringing awareness to this ongoing crisis. If we are to successfully reduce the harm being caused by poker machines we need to bring the community along with us.”
