Data reveals NSW worst pokies hotspots by suburb

This is where NSW pokie players have lost more than $355 million in four months. Search and check our interactive table to see if it’s where you live and how your suburb compares.

Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney’s west have been revealed as the slot machine capitals of New South Wales, with punters losing more than $355 million across just four months.

The neighbouring local government areas are home to more than 8700 electronic gaming machines across pubs and clubs, which have fleeced punters out of hundreds of millions of dollars in the first quarter of the year.

Machines in Fairfield clubs between December and February recorded losses in excess of $188m alone, while pubs in the area accounted for just over $50m.

Meanwhile Canterbury-Bankstown housed a whopping 4924 machines across the area’s hotels and clubs which recorded $76m and $109m in losses respectively.

Hotels in Sydney’s CBD continued to rake in the cash from gaming, despite the Sydney City Council’s push for greater planning authority over location and operating hours of gaming areas, recording losses of $89m in the first 90 days of the year.

Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney’s west have been revealed as the slot machine capitals of New South Wales. Picture: Supplied

While the average poker machines in the local government area of Strathfield in Sydney’s inner-west, chewed through more than $110,000 in the three months to March, with losses of $15m across just 137 machines.

Earnings from electronic gaming in clubs outstripped hotels and pubs by only $325,000, despite housing 42,000 more machines. Meaning your average pokies machine in a NSW pub chewed through more than double than that of a club machine.

The NSW government earlier this year backtracked on its election commitment to remove 9500 pokies from across the state, suggesting the $60m it would cost taxpayers would “make no difference”.

The decision was followed by the release of the NSW auditor-general’s report into the effectiveness of gaming machine regulations, which found that the number of poker machines in NSW had increased since the Minns government took office in 2023.

NSW now comfortably houses more machines than all of the other jurisdictions combined, sitting at 87,789 across the state.

The Alliance for Gambling Reform’s Chief Advocate Tim Costello, said cashless cards were the key for state governments seeking to address the harms of gambling addiction, as it “allows you to lock in your losses before you’re in front of a hypnotising machine.”

The Victorian parliament just last month established a framework for carded play, and required all new machines to have a slower spin rate.

A trial of cashless gaming set for the coming months was postponed however, following the NSW government’s 2024 trial which was lambasted after only 14 of the 243 participants were determined to have actively participated in the scheme.

“Minns promised a trial of the technology and turned it into a trial of whether the punters liked it … It’s like trialling plain packaging to see if smokers prefer it. It’s ridiculous,” he said.

“Because Victoria’s broke, they looked at the revenue coming in from pokies and they said state coffers need it, you know if there’s reform there will be less revenue, so they postponed the trial.”

The Duke of Enmore pub in Sydney has removed poker machines in favour of other ways to create revenue. The pokie space is now set for live bands and entertainment. Picture: Supplied

But while state governments stall on gambling reform, some venues have opted to operate without electronic gaming machines entirely, like Sydney’s Odd Culture hospitality group.

The outfit which now operates 5 venues across Sydney, including the Old Fitzroy Hotel and the Duke of Enmore, has a strict no pokies policy.

Odd Culture’s Entertainment and operations Manager Sabrina Medcalf, said while the decision meant a “slower burn” for revenue, it was “sustainable, ethical and therefore quite rewarding”.

“We’ve never relied on pokies ever to drive revenue … instead we’re now able to have live gigs, trivia and jazz nights, wine tastings, and theatre performances,” she said.

“From the outset our philosophy has been, you know, pretty clear. Our venues are places of connection and creativity and culture.”

Facial recognition was mandated by the South Australian government in 2022 for venues with 30 or more gaming machines.

However Mr Costello described the technology as a “crock”.

“Trusting pubs and clubs with facial recognition and the data to self-exclude or intervene is like putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank,” he said.

The Australian Hotels Association and Clubs Australia were contacted for comment.

Anybody negatively affected by gambling can contact Gambler’s Help for free and confidential online, phone and face-to-face services. Call 1800 858 858 (24/7) or visit gamblershelp.com.au