NSW is set to become the first state to allow pokies venues to reopen as COVID-19 restrictions are eased, but anti-gambling groups say it's a case of putting 'money before health'. Mr Mohr said he understood the need for NSW to reboot its economy but questioned whether gaming rooms should be opening yet. 'For every million dollars that is spent on poker-machine gambling, only about three jobs are created,' he said. 'For every million dollars spent in the rest of hospitality - the front bar and restaurants - it's about 20.
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A move to introduce cashless poker machines across NSW has been welcomed by anti-gambling advocates, despite concerns that gamblers using a pre-loaded card could lose the sense they were forking out 'real' money.
NRL star Nathan Hindmarsh talks about his poker machine addiction..
NRL star Nathan Hindmarsh talks about his poker machine addiction
![Nsw Poker Machines Nsw Poker Machines](https://media.truelocal.com.au/B/5/B9748B50-63D5-41C3-8BD2-9E9F6ADB9605/1476492755692_PittwaterRSLDistilleryBarOpeningNight09-07-2017-5021-HDR-938x704.jpg)
Pokie profits in NSW are more than a quarter of a billion dollars for the top 25 pubs, but the community is asking at what cost? Picture: News CorpSource:News Limited
TALK about hitting the jackpot.
NSW's top 25 pokie pubs, all based in the greater Sydney region, raked in nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in profit in the past financial year, it has been revealed.
Liquor and Gaming NSW published the list of the state's top 25 earners, with the El Cortez Hotel in Fairfield sitting in top place.
But there are warnings that the 'mega profits' have come at significant community cost.
Thirteen of the 25 hotels are in the Fairfield and Canterbury/Bankstown region.
Fairfield, the city's most disadvantaged area, demanded a freeze on new machines in clubs and pubs in at-risk communities in a submission to the state government.
![Paf poker app free Paf poker app free](https://professionalrakeback.com/sites/default/files/files/pictures5/alex-scott.jpg)
The 25 hotels made a total of $253 million in poker machine profit during 2016/17, according to NSW Greens MP Justin Field.
The NSW government anticipates raising more than $100 million in tax from the top 25 hotels, Fairfax Media reports.
Mr Field says the hotels' 'mega profits' cause immeasurable harm to families and communities.
'Pokies are highly addictive products,' he said in a statement on Tuesday.
'(There are) powerful lobby groups pushing in their favour and covering up their true impacts.' The Greens MP is urging the state government to protect the vulnerable and wants the government to consider $1 bet limits along with an acceleration in the overall reduction in the number of poker machines in NSW.
Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone in July called on the NSW government to stop investing in poker machines in his community.
Poker machine, gaming, gambling. Generic Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
Today, he again urged the NSW government to protect vulnerable members of his community.
![Machine Machine](https://www.asgam.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Slot.jpg)
Mr Carbone said while Fairfield is home to 2.6 per cent of NSW's population it houses four per cent of the state's poker machines and contributes nine per cent of tax revenue from pokies.
All this while suffering from unemployment rates double the state's average, the mayor said.
'We urge the state government to correct the imbalance of tax revenue received from Fairfield City and to invest it back into the local community through the creation of jobs and infrastructure.'
ADDICTIVE PROFITS
NSW has half of Australia's gaming machines and 10 per cent of the total worldwide, with about 95,000 machines across the state.
![Nsw Nsw](https://igamingbusiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/pxfuel.com252.jpg)
Players can feed in as much as $7000 into just one machine.
About $8.27 billion was gambled on pokies in Fairfield alone, and $80 billion played across NSW in 2015-16.
That's around 55 per cent of the national total gambled on poker machines, which was $135.7 billion in 2014-15.
About 85 per cent of what punters gamble is paid out in winnings, but that still leaves a not insignificant $6 billion in revenue for clubs and venues in NSW alone.
![Nsw Poker Machines Nsw Poker Machines](https://the-drop.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Slide1.jpg)
State governments claim around 25 per cent tax on the machines' earnings.
In Western Australia, pokies are restricted to casinos only.
In July, the Victorian Government froze the number of pokies in that state until 2042 as part of a suite of reforms.
Australia has the highest gambling losses per capita worldwide, dwarfing casino hub Singapore. An analysis by The Economist early this year revealed Australians lost more per person than any other nation in 2016 — a massive $1292, averaged out across the population, not just gamblers ($11.6 billion in total).
The reason? Pokies. Losses from the gaming machines found in pubs and clubs across the nation were bigger than the total per capita gambling losses of nearly every other country — largely because of Australia's permissive bet limit rules, which allow punters to lose up to $1498 an hour.
REFORM CONSIDERED
NSW Racing Minister Paul Toole, who oversees Liquor and Gaming NSW, said the government is considering reforms to the scheme which examines the impact of gaming on communities and strategies to address negative impacts. 'The government will be considering all the evidence during this process, not just numbers cherrypicked by the Greens,' he told AAP.
Meanwhile, new federal welfare measures announced on Tuesday — which are designed to stop job seekers spending taxpayer dollars on drugs — are to be trialled in neighbouring Canterbury-Bankstown.
They could lead to less money being pumped into the pokies, the federal government argues.
Anyone who tests positive for certain illicit drugs will have 80 per cent of their dole payment quarantined in a cashless welfare card.
'We hope (the final 20 per cent) is still used for the intent of which welfare was provided — rather than used at the pokies,' Social Services Minister Christian Porter told reporters
Mr Porter said a similar cashless welfare card trial at Ceduna in South Australia led to a dramatic reduction in the local club's poker machine revenue.
SYDNEY'S TOP FIVE POKIE PUBS
1 — El Cortez Hotel, Canley Heights
2 — Railway Hotel, Lidcombe
3 — Markets Hotel, Flemington
4 — Eastwood Hotel, Eastwood
5 — Cross Roads Hotel, Casula
Updated September 25, 2020 17:00:30
Family members of problem gamblers could apply to have their relatives banned from gaming venues under a sweeping set of changes designed to reduce gambling harm in Australia's biggest pokies state.
Key points:
- Venues could be fined up to $27,500 for failing to stop self-excluded gamblers
- Gaming room staff will have more power to intervene with problem gamblers
- Australia has the highest per capita level of gambling losses in the world
Under the proposed laws, NSW venues could also be charged tens of thousands of dollars if they fail to stop self-excluded problem gamblers from using their poker machines.
NSW Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, said he wanted his state to lead the country on gambling reform.
'The reality is we are number one when it comes to how many poker machines we've got, but we're the laggard when it comes to harm minimisation measures,' he said.
The Berejiklian Government wants venues to identify and assist problem gamblers in a way that's comparable to responsible service of alcohol laws — placing more responsibility on venues to intervene with problematic gambling behaviour.
Poker machine attendants in NSW have told ABC Investigations they have seen problem gamblers urinate at poker machines and felt powerless to act under the current laws.
Among the NSW Government proposals, which will be released today for community consultation in the form of a draft bill, are:
- Fines of up to $27,500 for venues that allow self-excluded patrons to gamble
- A new third-party exclusion scheme that allows family members to ask venues to ban their relative from playing poker machines
- Requirements for venues to always have a gambling contact officer on duty who has advanced training in the responsible conduct of gambling
- New whistleblower protections for staff
Australia still world leader in gambling losses
Mr Dominello told the ABC he has been influenced by a number of factors, including the tragic suicide of Gary Van Duinen after a 13-hour pokies binge at Dee Why RSL and the social dislocation caused by COVID-19.
'We've got a pandemic and JobKeeper coming to an end in March; we've got anxiety and depression and stress on the rise, and then we've got an increase in gambling,' he said.
'We've got people using their super funds, and JobKeeper funds going into gambling. All of this amounts to a very nasty cocktail that we need to stay ahead of.'
Gambling: Tell us your story
Pokie profits in NSW are more than a quarter of a billion dollars for the top 25 pubs, but the community is asking at what cost? Picture: News CorpSource:News Limited
TALK about hitting the jackpot.
NSW's top 25 pokie pubs, all based in the greater Sydney region, raked in nearly a quarter of a billion dollars in profit in the past financial year, it has been revealed.
Liquor and Gaming NSW published the list of the state's top 25 earners, with the El Cortez Hotel in Fairfield sitting in top place.
But there are warnings that the 'mega profits' have come at significant community cost.
Thirteen of the 25 hotels are in the Fairfield and Canterbury/Bankstown region.
Fairfield, the city's most disadvantaged area, demanded a freeze on new machines in clubs and pubs in at-risk communities in a submission to the state government.
The 25 hotels made a total of $253 million in poker machine profit during 2016/17, according to NSW Greens MP Justin Field.
The NSW government anticipates raising more than $100 million in tax from the top 25 hotels, Fairfax Media reports.
Mr Field says the hotels' 'mega profits' cause immeasurable harm to families and communities.
'Pokies are highly addictive products,' he said in a statement on Tuesday.
'(There are) powerful lobby groups pushing in their favour and covering up their true impacts.' The Greens MP is urging the state government to protect the vulnerable and wants the government to consider $1 bet limits along with an acceleration in the overall reduction in the number of poker machines in NSW.
Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone in July called on the NSW government to stop investing in poker machines in his community.
Poker machine, gaming, gambling. Generic Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
Today, he again urged the NSW government to protect vulnerable members of his community.
Mr Carbone said while Fairfield is home to 2.6 per cent of NSW's population it houses four per cent of the state's poker machines and contributes nine per cent of tax revenue from pokies.
All this while suffering from unemployment rates double the state's average, the mayor said.
'We urge the state government to correct the imbalance of tax revenue received from Fairfield City and to invest it back into the local community through the creation of jobs and infrastructure.'
ADDICTIVE PROFITS
NSW has half of Australia's gaming machines and 10 per cent of the total worldwide, with about 95,000 machines across the state.
Players can feed in as much as $7000 into just one machine.
About $8.27 billion was gambled on pokies in Fairfield alone, and $80 billion played across NSW in 2015-16.
That's around 55 per cent of the national total gambled on poker machines, which was $135.7 billion in 2014-15.
About 85 per cent of what punters gamble is paid out in winnings, but that still leaves a not insignificant $6 billion in revenue for clubs and venues in NSW alone.
State governments claim around 25 per cent tax on the machines' earnings.
In Western Australia, pokies are restricted to casinos only.
In July, the Victorian Government froze the number of pokies in that state until 2042 as part of a suite of reforms.
Australia has the highest gambling losses per capita worldwide, dwarfing casino hub Singapore. An analysis by The Economist early this year revealed Australians lost more per person than any other nation in 2016 — a massive $1292, averaged out across the population, not just gamblers ($11.6 billion in total).
The reason? Pokies. Losses from the gaming machines found in pubs and clubs across the nation were bigger than the total per capita gambling losses of nearly every other country — largely because of Australia's permissive bet limit rules, which allow punters to lose up to $1498 an hour.
REFORM CONSIDERED
NSW Racing Minister Paul Toole, who oversees Liquor and Gaming NSW, said the government is considering reforms to the scheme which examines the impact of gaming on communities and strategies to address negative impacts. 'The government will be considering all the evidence during this process, not just numbers cherrypicked by the Greens,' he told AAP.
Meanwhile, new federal welfare measures announced on Tuesday — which are designed to stop job seekers spending taxpayer dollars on drugs — are to be trialled in neighbouring Canterbury-Bankstown.
They could lead to less money being pumped into the pokies, the federal government argues.
Anyone who tests positive for certain illicit drugs will have 80 per cent of their dole payment quarantined in a cashless welfare card.
'We hope (the final 20 per cent) is still used for the intent of which welfare was provided — rather than used at the pokies,' Social Services Minister Christian Porter told reporters
Mr Porter said a similar cashless welfare card trial at Ceduna in South Australia led to a dramatic reduction in the local club's poker machine revenue.
SYDNEY'S TOP FIVE POKIE PUBS
1 — El Cortez Hotel, Canley Heights
2 — Railway Hotel, Lidcombe
3 — Markets Hotel, Flemington
4 — Eastwood Hotel, Eastwood
5 — Cross Roads Hotel, Casula
Updated September 25, 2020 17:00:30
Family members of problem gamblers could apply to have their relatives banned from gaming venues under a sweeping set of changes designed to reduce gambling harm in Australia's biggest pokies state.
Key points:
- Venues could be fined up to $27,500 for failing to stop self-excluded gamblers
- Gaming room staff will have more power to intervene with problem gamblers
- Australia has the highest per capita level of gambling losses in the world
Under the proposed laws, NSW venues could also be charged tens of thousands of dollars if they fail to stop self-excluded problem gamblers from using their poker machines.
NSW Minister for Customer Service, Victor Dominello, said he wanted his state to lead the country on gambling reform.
'The reality is we are number one when it comes to how many poker machines we've got, but we're the laggard when it comes to harm minimisation measures,' he said.
The Berejiklian Government wants venues to identify and assist problem gamblers in a way that's comparable to responsible service of alcohol laws — placing more responsibility on venues to intervene with problematic gambling behaviour.
Poker machine attendants in NSW have told ABC Investigations they have seen problem gamblers urinate at poker machines and felt powerless to act under the current laws.
Among the NSW Government proposals, which will be released today for community consultation in the form of a draft bill, are:
- Fines of up to $27,500 for venues that allow self-excluded patrons to gamble
- A new third-party exclusion scheme that allows family members to ask venues to ban their relative from playing poker machines
- Requirements for venues to always have a gambling contact officer on duty who has advanced training in the responsible conduct of gambling
- New whistleblower protections for staff
Australia still world leader in gambling losses
Mr Dominello told the ABC he has been influenced by a number of factors, including the tragic suicide of Gary Van Duinen after a 13-hour pokies binge at Dee Why RSL and the social dislocation caused by COVID-19.
'We've got a pandemic and JobKeeper coming to an end in March; we've got anxiety and depression and stress on the rise, and then we've got an increase in gambling,' he said.
'We've got people using their super funds, and JobKeeper funds going into gambling. All of this amounts to a very nasty cocktail that we need to stay ahead of.'
Gambling: Tell us your story
ABC Investigations wants your help to find out more about what happens behind the scenes of Australia's gambling industry; to hear from people who have worked inside the industry and those who have lost money. Fill out our tips form here.
Australia has the highest per capita level of gambling losses in the world. The majority of those losses come from poker machines.
NSW has around half of the country's pokies and its clubs and pubs account for over $6 billion a year in losses.
NSW has always been the hardest jurisdiction to push through poker machine reform and Mr Dominello is under no illusion that the powerful lobby groups which represent clubs (ClubsNSW) and pubs (AHA) will automatically endorse his proposals.
'I'm expecting them to put their views and no doubt they've got their very robust views,' he said.
'But that's what the purpose of public consultation is all about — they'll have their views, other industry groups and stakeholders will have theirs, the community will have theirs and we will bring it all together and hopefully get some good legislation through.'
Late Friday afternoon, ClubsNSW and the Australian Hotels Association issued a joint statement, saying there are 'deeply concerned by the potential impact and cost of the draft legislative changes.'
'While several of the harm-minimisation measures contained in the legislation were originally proposed by the industry, the government's intended implementation would create unnecessary red tape and place a significant compliance burden on venues.
Nsw Poker Machine Revenue
'ClubsNSW and AHA NSW are disappointed with the lack of effective consultation on the proposed legislation.
'The lack of effective consultation with key industry stakeholders has resulted in unworkable proposals which will be impossible for venues to comply with.'
'Watershed moment' in NSW gambling history
Kate Da Costa from the Alliance for Gambling Reform said she was relieved there would be community consultation.
Nsw Gaming Machines Act
'We are pleased that the Minister has released a consultation draft, and intends to allow time for genuine engagement from all stakeholders, especially those with lived experience. Too often in the past, the industry has controlled legislative change,' Dr Da Costa said.
'This legislation is a watershed moment in gambling history in NSW. For the first time, in real terms, the industry will be held responsible and accountable for its role in a system that inflicts harm.'
Do you know more?
Please fill out the ABC Investigations gambling story tips form, or text message the team via the WhatsApp or Signal mobile apps on 0418 347 462.Face ID for gamblers could be used
Dozens of problem gamblers and their friends and family members have contacted ABC Investigations to highlight the flaws in self-exclusion schemes around the country. The main criticism is that self-excluded patrons are being able to enter venues they have barred themselves from.
Gambling researchers from CQ University found in their 176-page report commissioned by the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund that the 'monitoring of self-exclusion has numerous deficiencies'.
If you or anyone you know needs help:
- Lifeline on 13 11 14
- Gambling Help Online on 1800 858 858
- Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36
The report suggested that the use of technology could help improve the scheme, including introducing a system that could scan a patron's ID and match it to the self-exclusion register or the use of facial recognition technology.
Mr Dominello said he was open to such suggestions.
'You can use technology to improve lives and reduce suffering. So provided there is privacy and security settings, absolutely,' he said.
'First and foremost, I think this is a type of dialogue we need to have.'
Share your gambling story with us
We know gambling is a widespread national issue affecting millions of Australians.So, we want your help to find out more about what happens behind the scenes of Australia's gambling industry; to hear from people who have worked inside the industry and those who have lost money.
We assure you that any information you give us will be treated as strictly confidential. We won't publish anything you tell us, or identify you, without getting your permission.
The ABC is using the Screendoor tool to collect your story tips. The ABC's Crowdsourcing Collection Statement applies to any information you provide.
Nsw Poker Machines For Sale
Topics:gambling, clubs-and-associations, alcohol-education, alcohol, hospitality, sydney-2000, nsw, australia
Nsw Poker Machines Online
First posted September 25, 2020 04:49:18