Brimbank remains the top council area in Victoria for electronic gaming machine (EGM) spent, with locals losing more than $175 million in the past financial year.
According to new data, Brimbank residents spent $175,897,780 to EGMs between July 2024 and June 2025 — up $4,229,998 from the 2023 -2024 financial year.
Data also showed 953 EGMs in the municipality.
Brimbank has led in EGM losses statewide for more than a decade now, with locals losing a total of $1.36 billion from July 2014 to July 2024.
Brimbank mayor Thuy Dang said gambling harm continues to have a devastating effect on the community.
“[Gambling harm] is taking its toll through financial stress, relationship breakdowns, homelessness, family violence and mental health struggles,” she said.
Cr Dang said the Victorian government is responsible for the regulation and distribution of EGMs.
“While the government announced a number of initiatives in 2023, the implementation of some of these will not occur in full until 2027,” she said.
“Brimbank is a member of the Alliance for Gambling Reform and our focus has been on advocating for regulatory reform to prevent and reduce harm from EGMs.”
The council said it is calling on the state government to tackle the issue by expanding the uniform closing hours of gaming venues, reducing the daily EFTPOS withdrawal limit at gaming venues and extinguishing all EGM licences that are forfeited by gaming venue operators, among other measures.
Settlement Service International (SSI) head of community wellbeing and health Rose Vearing said several factors contribute to areas becoming gambling hotspots. SSI provides culturally informed gambling support.
These factors include high concentrations of EGMS in socio-economically disadvantaged suburbs, limited access to alternative recreational activities and the normalisation of gambling through social practices and local advertising.
“These factors are compounded by the presence of vulnerable populations experiencing financial stress, mental health issues or social isolation,” she said.
“Inadequate regulation and local government limitations in controlling venue numbers or machine caps often mean that once a region becomes saturated, it is difficult to reverse the trend.
“Local councils should be given more authority to make planning decisions that prioritise community wellbeing.”
