Poker machine gamblers in poorer suburbs are among the biggest financial losers in Australia – paying out $128 million AU in just 1 year. On average, an adult in the city of Monash spends $960 a year on poker machines, according to a recent government survey.
It seems poorer states lose the most – with Melbourne, Maribyrnong, and Dandenong gamblers facing the biggest losses, reaching as high as $1148 AU per person per year, while richer areas usually had residents who lost the least.
Total player losses for the 2006-2007 year reached more than $2.5 billion – around $7 million per day.
The survey, conducted by the Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation, also revealed that the heaviest month for playing poker machines, or 'pokies', as they are known, was August – with more than $221 million lost.
Rev. Tim Costello, an Anti-gambling crusader, said that the statistics made it clear that the machines were placed in poorer postcodes, and commented “For a Labor government to allow this is a betrayal of the people who vote for them. [...] It really is quite cynical for this Government to prop up their budget by targeting people in the poorest areas.”
Residents in Melbourne's most affluent suburbs, including Brighton, Toorak and Sandringham, lost the least.
Frank Makryllos, the chief of Tatts Pokies, spoke at a parliamentary gambling licence inquiry on Tuesday, and said that the machines were not addictive, claiming “It's an entertainment machine. It entertains. That's it.”
The government currently has a regional caps policy, which tries to reduce the number of machines in problem gambling areas – around 1000 machines were moved to other suburbs after the caps were implemented. The results of this survey have led to many in the opposition questioning the success of the policy.
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