Gold Coast players lose more than $40 million on pokies in just one month

The state government has been described as being like ‘Dracula in charge of the bloodbank’ after more than $40m was drained from the pockets of hard-pressed Gold Coasters. FULL DETAILS

The state government has been tagged “Dracula in charge of the bloodbank” after pokie machines last month drained a record high $40m from the pockets of hard-pressed Gold Coasters.

The $40,047,530 lost in July is by far the largest figure ever recorded on the Gold Coast, exceeding even the $37,594,214 sunk in July 2020 when gamblers rushed back to pokie palaces after a lengthy shutdown due to Covid-19.

The number is also just over 32 per cent higher than the last comparable figure of $30,326,967 recorded in July 2019 and 22.7 per cent higher than the $32,619,966 recorded in July last year.

The record losses come as the city is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis, with fuel, supermarket and housing prices soaring.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Rev Tim Costello. (AAP/ Keryn Stevens)

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Rev Tim Costello said many people turned to gambling when under financial stress.

“It’s counterintuitive, people have less money, but when rental costs are high and the cost of living is going up, people who are anxious and vulnerable turn up at pokies,” he said.

“Part of it is the wish, ‘maybe I might have a win, because I’m stuffed anyway’.

“Part of it is that once you sit at that machine, it does take away anxiety. You get in the zone, the dopamine gets released and your problems all go away.

“The machines are built for addiction.”

Using census figures as a guide, last month’s pokie losses represent an average monthly hit of $238 for every family in the city. If repeated over 12 months, that figure would be $2856.

Rev Costello said the effect on families was devastating.

“Twenty five per cent of domestic violence is contributed by gambling, mainly pokies,” he said.

“It’s kids going hungry. It’s rent or mortgage not being paid. It’s crime, because when you’re feeling hopeless you go and steal.”

Poker machine revenue delivered more than $800m to the Queensland government last year. But Rev Costello said that income was “fool’s gold” because state government services ultimately picked up the tab for the harm caused.

“This is absolute fool’s gold in terms of revenue. The state government have never commissioned an impact study into crime, into domestic violence, to financial trouble needing food relief, all correlated to gambling. They never commission that research because it’s such easy money for them, that they literally are Dracula in charge of the bloodbank.”

Griffith University researcher Dr Timo Dietrich said that as with the tobacco industry in the past, the gambling industry had become adept at marketing to young people, breeding the next generation of addicts.

“(The ads) are designed for that young male, blokey audience that’s watching sport, and they’re associating their betting with one of the things that means the most for those young people,” he said.

“The ads speak to them and they feel like that behaviour needs to be part of my DNA.

“But that’s going to hook you for a lifetime if you have an addictive personality.

“ … It will capture all the ones, the 10 to 20 per cent of the society, that young adult demographic, that could have that hard-core addiction, and then it may extend to other behavioural problems.”

Attorney General Shannon Fentiman speaks to the media in Slacks Creek on Friday. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

Attorney General Shannon Fentiman said the state government had an “ongoing commitment” to reducing the harm caused by gambling.

“There is no doubt that gambling is a complex social issue that not only impacts the gambler themselves, but their family, workplace and the wider community,” Ms Fentiman said.

“The Palaszczuk government has an ongoing commitment to reducing gambling-related harm and problem gambling.

“Last year we launched the Gambling Harm Minimisation Plan for Queensland, a four-year plan aimed at preventing and minimising gambling harm. This includes conducting research on gambling prevalence and harm.

“And in the latest budget, more than $3m over three years has been set aside towards a range of gambling harm research and minimisation initiatives such as the rollout of a Queensland Household Gambling Survey – the first since 2017 – which will gather vital information to inform policy, services and programs.

“We have a Bill before Parliament to strengthen and modernise gambling legislation, which includes a regulation making power-enabling gambling harm minimisation measures to be mandated.”

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