Total pokies for Victoria is 27,372
The number of pokie machines available for players in the Victorian city of Monash have been frozen for the next 25 years, but anti-gambling advocates say there are still far too many of the slots.
On July 7 Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz announced the maximum number of gaming machines in a single venue would be capped at 105 and for the state of Victoria at 27,372, reported the Herald Sun newspaper.
Alliance for Gambling Reform campaigner Kelvin Thomson said the reforms will prove harmful to residents of Monash, a Melbourne suburb and home of Monash University.
“Monash is a municipality that really suffers from gambling harm and this change will open the door for pokie machines to be relocated to more profitable venues,” Thomson said, adding that the changes will allow AFL clubs to offer up to 840 machines.
“People will suffer as we will be tackling 30,000 addictive machines,” he said. “It’s time for the government to adopt the New Zealand model, which enables councils to set gambling harm policies to reduce the number of machines.”
South East Metropolitan state Greens MP Nina Springle said Monash residents “spent and lost $8.7 million on pokies in May 2017 and losses over the 2016-17 financial year will exceed $100.4 million.”
Monash Mayor Rebecca Paterson said the odds are with the gambling clubs and not the residents. “This will do nothing to prevent further harm to the community from the predatory nature of the gambling industry,” Paterson said. “While the government says the number of gaming machines in Victoria will be frozen for 25 years, the truth is the reforms do not go far enough to protect the most vulnerable people in our community.”
