Elsie Lange
Hume council said it was “greatly concerned” about the whopping $12.6 million lost on electronic gaming machines (EGMs) in the municipality in March – the highest loss in 20 years.
Since July 2021, more than $34 million has been spent at pokies venues across Hume, with nearly $3.5 million gambled in Sunbury alone.
In December last year Hume residents lost $12.5 million on EGMs, which had previously been the highest to date.
Hume Community Services director Hector Gaston reiterated the “strong correlation” between gaming losses and those related to relative disadvantage experienced within communities.
“Hume has a higher-than-average socio-economic disadvantage [socio-economic indexes for areas] index within Victoria, which acts as an indicator of social and economic stressors within Hume communities,” Mr Gaston said.
President of the Sunbury Residents Association (SRA) Graham Williams said the organisation was concerned about high pokies spending in the area, especially compared to all other municipalities across the state.
Mr Williams expressed a “strong view that it is money that many families could ill afford especially at a time when the overall cost of living is increasing”.
“Whilst participation in gambling activities is a personal choice we believe there could be a progressive cut back on the number of venues that rely on this sort of activity and especially no further venues or machines approved,” Mr Williams said.
“Additionally, some ongoing education about the potential harm that gambling causes.”
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said Victorians lost over $257.3 million to EGMs in March, meaning $1 billion had been spent on pokies over the last four months in the state alone.
“Many of the [local government areas] with the highest losses are also some of the most stressed communities,” Mr Costello said.
“It’s clear that the industry’s business model is built upon exploiting the most vulnerable among us to inflate their profits.”
