New poker machines will be banned from Wyndham shopping centres after the council adopted a policy to tighten restrictions on the location of gaming venues.
The plan, which was endorsed by a state government planning panel in March, was designed by the council to address problem gambling in the city.
Councillors formally adopted the policy at their monthly meeting on May 26 and have written to Planning Minister Matthew Guy asking for it to be included in Wyndham’s planning scheme.
Once the plan is included in the planning scheme, electronic gaming would be discouraged in areas of high socioeconomic disadvantage or high levels of housing stress.
New machines will be viewed more kindly if they are planned for areas where there’s a choice of recreational and entertainment options other than pokies.
The council said it was necessary to limit the areas where poker machines could be located because an alarming number of machines continued to be approved by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation.
Wyndham punters lost almost $250,000 a day on local pokies in 2013. The state electorate of Tarneit has 548 machines, while Altona has 561 machines, 345 of which are in Wyndham.
Cr Glenn Goodfellow said the policy would help the council tackle problem gambling while still allowing gaming machines to be installed in the city.
“It gives us clear guidance on how we deal with electronic gaming applications as they come up,” he said.
The plan has been welcomed by HealthWest, with project co-ordinator James Dunne saying it was among the best ways councils could tackle problem gambling.
“Keeping gambling venues away from areas where people are likely to be more vulnerable is a positive step in reducing gambling-related harm,” he said.
“Removing pokies from where people live and go about their lives is likely to reduce the impact of problem gambling on the Wyndham community.”
