By Tate Papworth
Brimbank has again topped the state for money lost to gaming machines.
A whopping $72,619,432.51 was funnelled into machines across Brimbank over the first half of the 2019-2020 financial year, according to data published by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (FCGLR).
Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said while there was some positives, there is still a lot of harm being done by gaming machines in Brimbank.
“It was … great to see a $1.3 million decrease in losses in Brimbank, the home of the highest amount of gambling harm in Victoria.
“There has been much work on gambling harm prevention in Brimbank and the inner west of Melbourne, and it’s good to see some of that coming to fruition,” he said.
“However, Brimbank remains the local government area with the highest losses in the state.
“It’s impossible to ignore that the area is also one of the state’s most stressed communities for a multitude of reasons, many of which interconnect with gambling harm.
“A $1.3 million decrease is fantastic, but people in Brimbank are still losing $391,000 to poker machines every single day.”
In a bid to counter the pokies crisis, Brimbank council last year introduced a policy that charges clubs that operate gaming machines on council land commercial rates instead of peppercorn rent when their leases are up for review.
The affected clubs – St Albans Sports Club and Green Gully Soccer Club – are eligible for discounts of up to 80 per cent on the market rent if they introduce gambling harm-minimisation measures.
According to VCGLR figures, a total of $2,596,287.77 was lost at the St Albans Sports Club, while $3,034,460.26 was lost at the Green Gully Soccer Club in the past six months.
