Despite Hume City Council adopting a gambling harm minimisation policy in 2019, to reduce the amount punters lose playing pokie machines, latest figures show they lost a record $139m in the year to June 2023.
However, some clubs take part in a government scheme that involves venue operators returning 8.33% of gambling revenue to the community. But it appears the rules are a little fluid.
At a Monday 15 April Hume City Council meeting, Aitken ward councillor Joseph Haweil said clubs with pokies “…have all once again lived up to their reputations for [gambler] loses under the guise of supporting the community”.
He mentioned Sunbury Social Club, which declared a zero return to the community in 2022-2023. Official figures also show the club saw a 30% reduction ($520,000) in player loses for the same period.
Cllr Haweil said: “Once again the five Hume clubs that participate in the [tax] scheme have used and abused the loophole with a full 80.6 percent of the total amount claimed as a community benefit falling under the category of indirect [community] benefits.”
Indirect community benefits includes business operating costs.
Cllr Haweil said: “The worst offender was again the Sunbury Social Club which claimed 99.8 percent against this category – contributing zero dollars to the Sunbury and Hume community. I note its website carries the slogan ‘supporting the community’.”
Sunbury Social Club’s pokie punters put $1.15m in its machines in the 2022-23 financial year according to the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission. For the period July to December 2023, punters at the club gambled away $496,000.
Allan O’Connor, chairman of Sunbury Social Club, said: “The reason we made no direct cash donations in 22/23 was because we are still getting our financial sustainability in order following covid, and in the face of managing a 40-plus year old building that requires significant maintenance.
“We pay substantial rent to the council for the building – which we built – and which we are also funding the substantial maintenance and repairs.”
Mr O’Connor said the club was specifically created to support the community, is a not for profit, supports more than 20 different organisations, and that all board members are volunteers.
“Every dollar we make goes back to the community,” he said. “Either through improving our facilities, supporting clubs with in-kind contributions, or direct cash donations.”
During the council meeting, Sunbury Cllr Jack Medcraft, said: “Some of the clubs are making a poultice of money. But what are they giving back to the community? I think that is the area we should be targeting, because if they are taking the money off people, and they are not giving it back, that really is not Kosher. They should be made to increase that involvement.
“If we take pokie machines away I guarantee the TAB will be happy for it. I would like to see the one-armed bandits come back because after a while you do get tired. Now it is just electronic and they [gamblers] are robots.”
So-called ‘one-armed bandits’ are old-school mechanical machines that require the user to pull a long handle to operate them.
Cllr Haweil also said he was disappointed Sunbury United Sporting Club recieved council consent to build a children’s play area in return for amending its gambling license.
Sunbury Life has previously reported on mayor Naim Kurt’s announcement that gave the impression the club would reduce its pokie machines from 50 to 40 – when in fact it only had 40 on its premises. The only reduction is in the number on its license.
Cllr Haweil said the last place to build a children’s play area is at a pokie venue.
The State government is expecting to earn $1.5bn a year from pokie machines across the state over the next four years.
Gamblers help: 1800 858 858. Or see the website www.gamblinghelponline.org.au
A, B, C classification definitions:
Class A: Generally direct community benefits that includes donations, gifts, sponsorships (including cash, goods, and services), meals subsidies as well as the costs of providing and maintaining sporting facilities for Club members.
Class B: Indirect community benefits that includes items that are effectively operating costs. This includes claims like employment costs, management fees, rent, security, rates, cleaning, repairs, and maintenance.
Class C: Miscellaneous items that include expenses associated with provision of responsible gambling measures and activities but exclude those required by law. The reimbursement of expenses reasonably incurred by volunteers and CBS auditing expenses are included in this category.
Hume gambling stats (source / Hume City Council):
- 1 in 3 people in Hume City have gambled in the last 12 months
- Males are more likely to gamble than females
- Buying lotto tickets is the most common gambling activity, followed by using electronic gambling machines
- 1 in 3 people who have gambled over the last 12 months have spent more money than they wanted to spend when using pokies
Effects of gambling:
- 1 in 7 people have been personally affected by another person’s gambling, most often a family member or a friend
- Financial impacts/loss, stress, emotional impacts, and stealing, borrowing money are the most common effects experienced by gambling
- Of the Hume City residents who have gambled in the last 12 months, 1 in 5 are at moderate risk or higher of gambling harm
Top 5 gambling harms and impacts that community service providers are seeing:
- Financial stress/debt
- Family breakdown/family violence
- Shame and stigmatisation
- Mental health and wellbeing impacts
- Relationship breakdowns
