Whittlesea punters sink $60 million into region’s poker machines in six months

YOU could build a tenth of the Mernda Rail Extension or pay for two Mill Park Leisure centre overhauls with the money lost on Whittlesea poker machines in the past six months.

YOU could build a tenth of the Mernda Rail Extension or pay for two Mill Park Leisure centre overhauls with the money sunk into Whittlesea poker machines in the past six months.

Punters put more than $60 million into gaming machines in Whittlesea, with Epping Plaza Hotel and Mill Park’s Plough Hotel topping the state when it came to expenditure, according to data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation.

The pokies venues maintained their number one and two rankings statewide after patrons spent $10.99 million at the Epping Plaza Hotel and $9.82 million at the Plough Hotel in the second half of 2017.

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The Bundoora Hotel ($8.97 million) and Excelsior Hotel in Thomastown ($8.68 million) were also high on the list.

The Plough Hotel, Bundoora Hotel and the Excelsior Hotel are all owned by the Woolworths-controlled ALH Group.

Whittlesea Council, which has a staunch anti-pokies policy, is gearing up for a Supreme Court battle to stop Woolworths installing 40 poker machines at South Morang’s Commercial Hotel.

Mayor Kris Pavlidis called poker machines a “scourge” on the community.

“It’s out of control, the effect it has on families and individuals is huge and can’t be ignored,” she said.

“The damage caused by pokies goes beyond financial, it can lead to family breakdown and worse.”

Alliance for Gambling Reform director Tim Costello said a Monash University study of community perceptions in Whittlesea published last year found strong public concern about the impact of poker machines on crime and violence, on family breakdowns, and on mental health.

Whittlesea Community Connections chief executive Alex Haynes said the agency saw first-hand the impacts of gambling on individuals and families who came in seeking support.

An Emergency Relief survey conducted by the centre in 2015 showed 7 per cent of households had a family member who gambled regularly, with losses of more than they could afford.

Of those, 80 per cent lost more than $100 a fortnight and 75 per cent played pokies at a local venue. Three-quarters said gambling affected their ability to buy basic household needs.

It estimated there were more than 1300 people classified as problem gamblers in Whittlesea, but only 10 per cent of them would seek help for the addiction.

The Epping Plaza Hotel, owned by HLM Group, has been anchored at, or near the top, of the of the statewide data for at least the past 18 months.

HLM Group gaming operations manager Tony Parsons told Leader in July that the hotel was happy to work with the council.

“All hotels contribute 8.33 per cent of revenue to the government’s Community Support Fund,” he said.

“We strongly believe the amount contributed by hotels should be directed back to the relevant communities.”

@paulshapiro1117