A Melbourne academic is calling for $1 betting limits to be introduced in outer suburban areas where gambling losses are among the state’s highest.
Monash University’s Dr Charles Livingstone has compiled a report detailing gaming machine losses by electorate in Victoria between July 2012 and June this year.
His research found that gamblers in outer suburban electorates such as Cranbourne and Tarneit were among the state’s biggest pokies losers. The electorate of Melbourne lost the most money last financial year, with $80.28 million spent on 847 machines.
Tarneit had the state’s fifth-highest total ($59.31 million), while $28.51 million was lost at Wyndham venues in the Altona electorate.
Dr Livingstone said it was clear that losses were closely tied with disadvantage, and that a link existed between high numbers of machines and higher rates of loss.
Tarneit has 548 machines while Altona
has 561 machines, 345 of which are in Wyndham. The state average is 318 machines per electorate.
Dr Livingstone said the best way to reduce losses was to make pokies “harmless fun”.
He said there was a need to reduce the size of gaming venues and restrict the amount of money people could gamble with, as machines in suburban pokies venues “easily” allowed losses of $600 an hour.
“There should be maximum bets of $1, limiting losses to $120 per hour. We need to look at solutions and there are suggestions
$1 bets are the way to go,” he said.
As reported by the Weekly, Wyndham council has sought to reduce the impact of pokies by restricting where gaming venues can be built. The council has asked Planning Minister Matthew Guy to appoint an independent panel to consider allowing it
to ban gaming venues from activity centres and shopping strips.
Developers and operators have opposed the plan.
Dr Livingstone said such plans had proven useful in reducing losses as they made it more difficult for people to access pokies venues.
