Australia: Poker machines make AUD 60K yearly

Written by BrainBetting Team Tuesday, 18 October 2011 08:01

Gambling News - Casino News

The clubs industry in Australia is currently fighting to retain a thriving 'pokies' industry in the face of federal government moves to make players nominate how much they are prepared to lose over a set period - a 'pre-commitment' strategy designed to reduce the risk of problem gambling.

Figures out this week from the Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing at the behest of the Sun-Herald newspaper show that Aussies love to gamble, with more than A$ 11 billion being wagered every three months through land clubs in New South Wales alone, generating profits of around A$800 million.

Taking up the story, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that cash donations to charities & community organisations account for only 2.7 percent of NSW club income.

The chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce, the Reverend Tim Costello, claimed: "Australians spend $12 billion a year on poker machine gambling. Six hundred thousand people play at least weekly and, of these, 95,000 are addicted to pokies. A further 95,000 are at risk of developing an addiction.''

Costello also claimed that there are currently around 200,000 poker machines in Australia, generating average revenue of A$60,000 each. ''Nearly all of these are high-intensity machines. In most states, a gambler can play maximum lines & maximum credits. That means, on high-intensity machines, it's possible to feed A$15,000 an hour into these machines. Losses average A$1200 an hour. People addicted to poker machines tend to play maximum credits & maximum lines, averaging losses of around A$21,000 a year. Some lose a lot more,'' Costello told the newspaper.

Despite the high revenues involved, a spokeswoman for ClubsNSW, Carissa Simons, said only just over half of the 1256 registered clubs in NSW made a profit.

''Clubs also have to pay the salaries of 43,000 staff, tax & all the costs of running a business,'' Ms Simons said. ''The fact that they are, on average, able to donate 2.7 per cent of their income in cash alone to local community & charities is remarkable & perhaps the reason why just 52 per cent of clubs are currently making a profit.''

The clubs spent $66 million on community contributions in 2010, according to figures compiled for The Sun-Herald by the Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing. Official figures also show the state government earned $66 million in revenue from the 1256 NSW clubs & their 70,905 gaming machines in the three months to May this year.

The pre-commitment measure is a condition imposed by federal independent senator Andrew Wilkie for his critical support of the minority Labor Party government in Australia, & he wants to see it implemented by 2014.

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