New South Wales authorities announced that a total of A$73.3 billion was spent on poker machines during the 2014-15 fiscal year, despite the fact that there were fewer devices operating within the state’s borders.
Pokies generated turnover of A$68.9 billion during the 2013-2014 fiscal year, according to figures reported by the New South Wales Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority. The published results represented an annual increase of 6%, although there were 93,364 pokies last year compared to 93,608 in the previous fiscal year.
Fairfield was the local government region that posted the highest pokies turnover for 2014-15. Gambling customers there pushed a total of A$7.6 billion through as many as 3,300 devices. Turnover increased A$629 million in the area, although there were 410 fewer pokies there in the year ended June 30, 2015. Local clubs and pubs featured 3,394 machines in the previous financial year, which means that players put an average of A$2.2 million per machine.
Similar trend could be noticed in other local government areas. For instance, Canterbury-based gambling customers put more than A$3.6 billion through local pokies, up A$223 million as compared to the figures reported for the 2013-14 fiscal year. There, too, the number of gaming machines fell. There were a total of 1,988 of those in the year ended June 30, 2015, compared to 2,199 during the same twelve-month period a year ago. This means that an average of A$1.8 million was gambled per machine last year.
The New South Wales government introduced a new gambling law intended to reduce the number of poker machines operating within the state’s borders in a bid to minimize the risk of problem gambling behavior among residents. Under the said law, when gaming devices are traded, one of three sold must be forfeited to the state government.
Commenting on the regulations, Charles Livingstone, Senior Lecturer at the Monash University, said that the latest figures are indicative of the scheme’s ineffectiveness. According to the scholar, there are too many gaming machines and more substantial cuts need to be made in order for the amounts of money spent on pokies to be reduced.
Dr. Livingstone also suggested that the increase in turnover could be attributed to the popularity of casino-style games, such as blackjack and roulette, offered at local clubs and pubs.
A spokesman for Troy Grant, the current New South Wales Deputy Premier and Gaming Minister, said that the gaming machines reduction scheme has led to hundreds of those being dropped out of circulation each and every year. The spokesman also noted that people showing symptoms of problem gambling behavior have been counseled and supported via the so-called Responsible Gambling Fund.
