Biggest losers

By Nicole Williams
GAMBLERS in Greater Dandenong are losing almost twice as much on pokie machines each year than the average Victorian.
New figures released by Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation show that adults in Greater Dandenong lose an average of $1110 on electronic gaming machines (EGM) each year, compared to the Victorian average of $613 per adult.
Between June 2010 and July 2011, pokie players lost more than $117 million on machines in Greater Dandenong, more than $2 million from the year before and ranking it among the biggest gambling areas in Victoria (behind Brimbank, Casey and Monash).
Dr Mark Zirsak, the chair of the Interchurch Gambling Taskforce, said the high spending on pokie machines in the area was worrying.
“It should be a great concern to people in the Dandenong area,” Dr Zirsak said.
“These losses are a loss to them out of the community. This paints the need to reign in these losses and areas like Dandenong are bearing the brunt.”
Dr Charles Livingstone, a senior lecturer on Health Social Science at Monash University and an expert on gambling and society, said Greater Dandenong was one of the most disadvantaged municipalities in Victoria and therefore bears a disproportionate share of the burden of pokie gambling.
“There is no doubt that gambling at the levels currently observed in City of Greater Dandenong is harming that community, without generating real community benefits,” he said.
“The evidence of harm from pokies is irrefutable and extensive, and local communities like Greater Dandenong need to be able to say ‘enough is enough’ with some degree of certainty.”
The municipality has 944 pokie machines in 15 venues, nearly nine machines per 1000 adults, but it is under the State Government cap of 989 for the city. Greater Dandenong Council’s Gambling Policy acknowledges that the cap on machines has made little difference.
“Caps have set a limit of 989 upon the number of machines in Greater Dandenong, though with little effect upon the scale of local gambling losses,” the policy stated.
Dr Livingstone said local councils could object to licence applications but the power was limited.
“These powers are very limited given that when exercised to restrict pokie applications, applicants invariably appeal to VCAT, where most often they succeed,” he said. Each pokie machine in Greater Dandenong raked in over $124,000, compared to the Victorian average of $99,000.