Frankston Dolphins Football Club dumps loss-making poker machines at gaming room
A VFL club in Melbourne’s southeast has pulled the plug on its 27 poker machines in a move applauded by politicians and church groups.
South East
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FRANKSTON Dolphins Football Club has dumped its 27 poker machines after bleeding money at its gaming venue.
Dolphins general manager Brett Angwin said the club’s board last week voted unanimously to dump the pokies, which were losing about $1600 every week.
“They’re not the cash cows people think they are,” he said.
“We have to surrender our gaming licence and the machines to the state.
“We want to promote a healthy environment and a family environment.”
Mr Angwin acknowledged there had been declining patronage of the club’s pokies since 2012.
He said a lack of parking and perceptions the club was only open during the football season had added to the problem.
Licencing and monitoring fees and payment required for the machines meant the club was effectively losing money on them.
Mayor James Dooley and Frankston state Labor MP Paul Edbrooke both said they were rapt the club had made the decision as part of its push to be more family friendly.
Cr Dooley said council was 100 per cent behind the move.
“They are aiming for a more family friendly environment and poker machines stood in the way of that,” he said.
“We congratulate them and we look forward to a time when poker machines are not involved in local sport at all.”
Mr Edbrooke agreed removal of the pokies was a positive and would ultimately help create a more family friendly club.
Mr Angwin stressed that crowd attendances for football games had been good this season and patronage for the club’s new headquarters had increased since it was revamped to include a function centre.
He said the club was working with consultants on a plan for the best use of the space currently housing the poker machines.
Mr Angwin said there had been no complaints since the club pulled the plug on the pokies.
Pastor Mark Whitby, who runs Frankston-based church welfare group City Life, applauded the football club for ditching the machines.
“A lot of the people we deal with are affected by problem gambling — it’s a big issue for us,” he said.
The Dolphins move comes after outrage last month when it was revealed that Victoria’s gaming regulator was allowing a local pub to install 10 more pokies machines — so long as it built a $1 million playground for children.
The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation ruled the Langwarrin Hotel could increase its number of pokies from 52 to 62 but must build an undercover play area within 12 months.
The commission said more machines was unlikely to increase the risk of addictive behaviour but it acknowledged that recreational betting would increase.
It said the playground — proposed by the owners of the pub — would be a benefit for the community.
The Leader reported in March that figures showed punters lost $62 million to pokies in the greater Frankston area from July 2014 to June 2015.
Frankston councillors last year backed a policy recommending that gaming venues and pokies be positioned where there were other adult recreation activities available.