Darebin Council rejects plan for more poker machines at Darebin RSL

DAREBIN Council has rejected a plan for the Darebin RSL to expand its business, including additional electronic gaming machines.

Plans for a $9 million renovation to Darebin RSL, including additional electronic gaming machines, were rejected by Darebin Council at a planning meeting. Picture: James Ross.

A PLAN to install 15 additional electronic gaming machines in Darebin RSL has been shot down after Darebin councillors voted unanimously against the proposal.

Councillors were quick to move against the application at Monday’s planning meeting, citing high economic losses and disruptive health effects as their main concerns.

The plan outlined a number of changes to the club, including extensive refurbishments and extended opening hours.

The new hours would allow the club to stay open until 2am every night, an increase of 15 hours a week.

Mayor Kim Le Cerf said the council was acting to protect a community that had already high gambling losses and was one of the most disadvantaged areas of the municipality.

“With a relatively high level of disadvantage in Preston, when we considered the social and economic impact assessment, more machines and longer opening hours is the very last thing the community needs,” Cr Le Cerf said.

Documents commissioned by the council determined the proposal would create a venue with the third highest weekly poker machine expenditure of all RSL clubs in Victoria.

Gamblers lost more than $4.4 million at the RSL last year.

Darebin RSL manager Mark Russell declined to comment on the council vote, but when asked if there would be a challenge to the decision at VCAT, he said the RSL would be looking at all options available.