General News
24 October, 2022
Concern over cost of living pressures as pokies losses spike
Losses at local pokie machines look set to return to pre-pandemic levels and with the current cost of living pressures, Child and Family Services (CAFS) Ballarat believe this will put more pressure on people’s hip pocket. Data from the Victorian...
Losses at local pokie machines look set to return to pre-pandemic levels and with the current cost of living pressures, Child and Family Services (CAFS) Ballarat believe this will put more pressure on people’s hip pocket.
Data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation reveals that pokies losses have been on the rise since January following lower than usual expenditure over the past two years.
With pandemic restrictions in place for much of 2020 and parts of 2021, expenditure at local electronic gaming machines (EGMs) had fallen to its lowest in 10 years, with just under $8 million lost in the 2019/20 financial year and $9.6 million in 2021/22.
However, in July and August alone this year residents lost more than $2.1 million, a 37 percent increase compared to the same period in 2021, something CAFs Gambler’s Help community engagement officer John Bradshaw said is concerning.
“There’s been an inconsistent spike where we’ve seen certain local government areas go up quite a lot in terms of expenditure while others have actually decreased post-pandemic,” he said.
“Unfortunately the Central Goldfields has increased a bit so our hope is certainly that there will be a downward trend in that data soon, rather than the upward trend we’re now seeing.”
The data comes from the two licensed gaming venues in the shire, the Maryborough Highland Society and Maryborough Golf Club, which have 59 and 40 EGMs respectively.
The data shows financial losses at the golf club numbered $1.6 million last financial year and $900,000 in 2020/21.
Comparatively, the Maryborough Highland Society saw losses to the sum of $5.3 million in 2021/22 and $3.4 million in 2020/21.
Online gambling had become a replacement for physical gaming machines when COVID restrictions limited access, Mr Bradshaw said, however online losses remain concerningly high with the return of EGMs.
“We know that the spend in online gambling has skyrocketed as well in tandem with the pokies,” he said.
“The problem with online gambling is it’s just so accessible, you really do have a casino in your pocket with all the apps and programs you can have on your phone.
“It’s unfortunate that mainly young people and males in particular are exposed to a saturation of gambling related advertising, which all leads to the normalisation of gambling, particularly when it comes to sport.
“It’s not a great leap from gambling on sport to putting money into the pokies on a night out and unfortunately, that’s what we’re seeing.”
Mr Bradshaw said the increased expenditure through both physical and electronic gambling was particularly concerning given cost of living pressures.
“Our worry is that people will encounter financial stresses as a result of their gambling expenditure,” he said.
“People are under increased financial stress and we want them to budget accordingly — gambling is a way to spend money, not make it.
“We need to be prudent at this time and not look at gambling as a way to make ends meet or chase losses — it’s not going to end the right way.”
The new expenditure figures follow Gambling Harm Awareness Week (October 17 to 23) which emphasises the importance of checking in with others, Mr Bradshaw said.
“It’s the same with anything in our lives, the sooner we reach out to someone that we trust, the sooner we can get the help that we need,” he said.
“I think we’re getting better at talking about things like mental health and in a lot of cases gambling intersects with mental health as well.
“The theme of Gambling Harm Awareness Week is ‘could gambling be affecting your wellbeing’ so if anyone notices a change in themselves or someone they care about, my advice is to reach out to Gambler’s Help sooner rather than later.”
CAFs Gambler’s Help covers the Grampians region, which includes the Central Goldfields, and organises events and hosts presentations locally.
“We partner up with local mental health providers who give talks in workplaces and we also run a school education program and we’ve presented to both Highview College and the Maryborough Education Centre,” Mr Bradshaw said.
“We talk about things like financial literacy, gaming and gambling and we also look at the amount of sport advertising and how it’s marketed to young people.
“We also give gambling harm awareness talks to professionals as well, whether that be the Maryborough District Health Service or other health services in the catchment.”
CAFs’ Gambler’s Help service is free and confidential, with the local branch contactable on 1800 692 237 or by visiting cafs.org.au/financial-support.