Aussie town council alarmed by high pokie betting

Sydney’s Fairfield Council, which has authority over 3,836 pokie machines in 38 venues, has expressed alarm at the amount of bets going through the machines, which according to recent New South Wales research topped A$8.2 billion in 2015-2016.

Actual punter losses on those stakes were around A$800 million, but anti-gambling groups have focused on the total deposits, claiming that this equates to each of Fairfield’s population of 207,000 gambling A$40,000 a year (based on actual punter losses, this figure drops to A$4,000 a year).

Reporting on the concerns, the Guardian newspaper points out that pokie deposits could also come from non-residents visiting the pubs and clubs in Fairfield and trying their luck on the machines.

Fairfield Council has called on government to impose a freeze on further pokie machine growth in communities that have similar high betting patterns in order to reduce the potential risk of problem gambling.

Greens MP Justin Field said in a statement to The Guardian:

“NSW has allowed de facto casinos in our local communities that are ripping billions of dollars from local people and taking a toll on families and individuals. The government must now play its part and give pokies-impacted communities like Fairfield support for a freeze and then reduction in machine numbers.”

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