Gold Coast punters lose $36m on poker machines in just one month

New figures show Gold Coasters are losing more than $1.16m a day – or $48,300 per hour – to an industry critics say is ‘dangerous’ and ‘predatory’.

GOLD COASTERS are losing more than $1.16m a day – or $48,300 per hour – on poker machines.

State government figures show just over $36 million was lost by gamblers in the city last month, up nearly seven million on February. The shock number was also almost five million more than the $31.3 million hit poker machine players took at the same time last year.

The only time losses have been higher on the Gold Coast was in July and August 2020, when punters flocked to gaming rooms in big numbers following a four-month hiatus due to Queensland’s Covid-19 lockdown.

The spike in poker machine losses coincides with a cost-of-living crisis that has seen steep hikes in the price of rent, fuel and groceries.

The reopening of borders to international tourists on February 21 is also likely to have boosted the numbers.

Gold Coasters are losing more than $1 million a day on poker machines. Picture: Stock image / iStock.

Gambling researcher Alex Russell, an Associate Professor at CQUniversity, said there were a number of possible reasons for the spike in losses.

“It’s always really hard to work out a single factor involved,” he told the Bulletin.

“If there was a payout or something going on then that would certainly be a pretty good reason for a spike.

“Certainly people tend to gamble when they’re stressed, too. It is a bit of a stress relief kind of thing, where you go in front of a pokie and just tune out, you don’t have to worry about what is going on in the world around you.

“You just keep on pressing that button until your money’s gone.

“A lot of people find it a coping mechanism if they’re having a tough time.”

Professor Russell said the scale of the losses experienced in Australia was far higher than in other countries because of the presence of poker machines in pubs and clubs.

“Australians are the biggest losers worldwide in terms of gambling,” he said.

“We lose about $1300 (annually) per head on average. That average includes people who don’t gamble.

“That’s more than double just about every other country in the world.

“The unusual thing for us is we have pokies in pubs and clubs. If you look in other countries, just about every other country only has them in specific gambling venues.”

Chief Advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, Tim Costello. Picture: AAP/ Keryn Stevens.

Poker machine losses had been climbing steadily on the Gold Coast before last month’s spike, breaching $30 million in a month for the first time in July 2017 and reaching a pre-pandemic high of $31.75m just over two years later.

Excluding the post-lockdown surge, the previous high was a figure of $34.185m recorded last October.

Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Tim Costello said the figures were a “sobering reminder” of the dangers of the gambling industry.

“Over the course of just 31 days in March, the community on the Gold Coast lost over $36 million to poker machines,” Mr Costello said.

“There is now a clear trend of increasing losses here on the Gold Coast with numbers climbing by the millions every year. It’s a sobering reminder of just how dangerous the gambling industry is to our safety and wellbeing.

“It’s staggering that the Queensland Labor Government continues to allow this predatory industry to operate with such reckless disregard for our wellbeing when it is causing so much harm to communities across the state.”

Last month’s shock figures come after an Australian National University (ANU) study released earlier this month revealed that almost 200,000 Australian children are exposed to moderate or serious levels of risky gambling by a parent each year.

Lead author Dr Aino Suomi, said the study showed 10 per cent of all parents had engaged in some level of risky gambling in the past year.

“Problem gambling is a significant public health concern on its own, but the experience of gambling-related harm reaches much wider,” Dr Suomi said.

“Children are most vulnerable to this harm, which can include psychological stress, and negative impacts on family relationships.

“Parental gambling is also associated with child welfare concerns - things like neglect, poor nutrition and family violence.”

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