Gambling reform advocates have criticised the results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Australia.- Four AFL clubs in Victoria have come under scrutiny for making earnings of\u00a0more than AU$40m (US$25.9m)<\/strong>\u00a0from gaming machines in the last fiscal year.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission<\/strong>‘s data showed the club with the highest income from machines remained\u00a0Carlton<\/strong>, with AU$19.1m from 290 machines across four venues. That translates to an average income of AU$65,954 per machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Richmond<\/strong>, another AFL club, reported earnings of AU$4.6m through 97 machines at the Wantirna Club in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, averaging $47,573 per machine.\u00a0St. Kilda<\/strong>\u00a0made AU$1.8m from 83 machines located at its Moorabbin venue. Meanwhile,\u00a0Essendon Football Club<\/strong>\u00a0recorded AU$14.7m from 190 machines at two venues. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The advocacy group\u00a0No Pokies at Essendon,<\/strong>\u00a0criticised the results. The group’s president,\u00a0Mike Read<\/strong>, said: “In recent years we have seen AFL clubs rush to get out of the pokies business, recognising the immense social harm they cause.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n An Essendon spokesperson emphasised the club’s reliance on poker machine revenue due to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.\u00a0All four businesses are participants in the\u00a0Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation’s “Love the Game” initiative, designed to raise awareness of gambling harm among youth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Carol Bennet<\/strong>, CEO of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, questioned the clubs’ participation in the initiative. Bennet noted that Collingwood, Melbourne, Geelong, and the Western Bulldogs have abandoned poker machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Melbourne became the first Victorian AFL club to divest from poker machines in 2008. Hawthorn followed suit by selling its poker machine venues in 2022, while Collingwood decided to exit the industry in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n