Report reveals staggering amount lost on pokie machines

Australians have lost a staggering amount of money to pokie machines, prompting calls for stricter limits.

Australians have lost a staggering $66 billion to pokie machines in Victoria since they were introduced 30 years ago, a new report has found.

The group behind the report, The Alliance for Gambling Reform, hopes to highlight what that figure means for countless families.

“The tragedy of this $66 billion figure is the profound damage this presents to countless people, families and communities,” the Alliance’s chief advocate, Tim Costello, said.

To help reduce damage, the group is calling for a raft of measures including lowering the maximum bet on all pokie machines to $1.

It is also calling for the mandatory closing of all poker machine venues from 2am to 6am and wants universal pre-commitment, allowing gamblers to set their own predetermined betting limit before starting a session.

One Aussie Mum from Yass in NSW recently revealed she lost $500,000 to pokies over a 15-year period – once losing $12,000 in just one sitting.

“Once I started playing them, I was so quickly mentally hijacked, spending way more money and time than I planned to, and not really understanding why it was happening,” she told news.com.au.

Reform advocates are calling for the maximum bet on all pokie machines to be $1.

Victoria's very first pokie machine opened at the Dorset Gardens Hotel in Croydon on 17 July, 1992.

“Back then, Victoria started with 10,000 machines. Today there are almost 30,000 poker machines and despite mandatory closing laws, operators have found loopholes to provide gambling access 24 hours a day – and in some of Victoria’s most vulnerable communities,” Mr Costello said.

In 2004, the Victorian Government legislated to reduce opening hours of poker machine venues from 24 hours to 20 hours a day. However, the changes did not specify what hours venues must close.

According to the Alliance, owners with multiple venues are staggering their hours to provide 24-hour gambling access.

The losses were calculated using data from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission, which highlights the yearly electronic gaming machine expenditure since 1992.

At the time pokie machines were introduced to Victoria, a maximum betting limit was set at $2, but was subsequently raised to $5.