Fairfield City loses $363m to club pokie machines, most in NSW
The people of Fairfield City lost $363 million to club pokie machines last year, more than any other government area in NSW.
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The people of Fairfield City lost $363 million to club pokie machines last year, more than any other government area in NSW.
The losses – revealed in reports released Wednesday by Liquor and Gaming NSW – continue a two year streak where Fairfield City has lost more to club pokie machines than 98 other local government areas in NSW.
The findings led to mayor Frank Carbone calling for the NSW Government to reduce the number of pokie machines in Fairfield City.
“The State Government has allowed Fairfield LGA to have more poker machines than all of Tasmania and that is unacceptable,” he said.
“$1.4m is lost per day to pokies in the Fairfield LGA and the median individual income for Fairfield is below $400 per week.”
The most money in NSW was lost playing the pokies at Mounties in Mt Pritchard, according to the data. The club had 615 pokie machines as of December 2018.
Mounties’ chief executive, Dale Hunt, defended the club’s gaming machines claiming they contribute to the economy.
“In addition to socialising, entertainment, dining and recreation, Mounties provides a trusted and enjoyable destination for responsible gambling,” he said.
“This enables (us) to contribute significantly to the NSW economy through jobs, redevelopments, charitable funding and local sport endeavours.”
Cabra-Vale Diggers ranked fifth for club pokie machine losses in NSW, while City of Fairfield RSL Memorial Club ranked 15th.
Tim Costello, the director of Alliance for Gambling Reform, called for the NSW Government to reveal the dollar figure lost at each club and hotel – rather than just disclosing the ranking.
He singled out Fairfield City as an example of the negative outcomes pokie machines can have on the community.
“There is no other council area in Australia like Fairfield where the community is spending almost five times as much on pokies as they pay in rates to their local council,” he said.
“This demonstrates how out of control poker machines losses are in NSW, particularly in the more vulnerable communities of south western Sydney.”
The Liquor and Gaming NSW data breaks down pokie machine losses by those in clubs and those in hotels.
On top of the $363m lost at club pokie machines, another $151m was lost last year to the machines based in hotels.
Only two other local government areas in NSW lost more to pokie machines in hotels: Sydney City and Canterbury-Bankstown.
Combined, Fairfield City has 3868 pokie machines across 38 hotels and clubs, as of December 2018. This is one less than the previous year.
The total amount lost by Fairfield City locals to pokie machines last year was $514m.
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