Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
Carlton and Essendon are among the four AFL clubs accused of trading on people\u2019s misery as more than $40 million was sunk into club-owned poker machines in the past financial year.<\/p>\n
According to data from Victoria\u2019s betting regulator, the Blues pocketed the most money off gamblers\u2019 losses of all four clubs, while punters who played Essendon\u2019s pokies lost the most per machine.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Carlton, Richmond, Essendon and St Kilda are the only four Victorian clubs left in the pokies business.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Flavio Brancaleone<\/cite><\/p>\n Carlton, Richmond, Essendon and St Kilda are the four remaining clubs that hold gaming licences in Victoria, amid mounting criticism from both the government and public.<\/p>\n Data from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission shows that gamblers lost $40.2 million across the 690 pokie machines operated by eight club-owned gaming venues last financial year.<\/p>\n The total amount lost is the highest figure spent at those four clubs\u2019 venues in a decade.<\/p>\n Monash University gambling expert Charles Livingstone described the revenue stream as \u201cexploitative\u201d of vulnerable people and harmful to the reputation of the clubs.<\/p>\n \u201cTrading on people\u2019s misery is no way to endear yourself to the ordinary person, particularly football fans who really want an entertainment forum which is enjoyable and family-friendly,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Carlton profited the most off gamblers\u2019 losses \u2013 punters sunk more than $19 million into the club\u2019s 290 machines spread over four venues, $4.5 million more than in the previous financial year.<\/p>\n Gamblers lost $14.7 million across the Bombers\u2019 venues in Melton, amounting to a $77,500 loss per machine (Essendon own 190 machines). Comparatively, those who gambled at Carlton\u2019s venues lost about $66,000 per machine.<\/p>\n Before this year, the two Essendon-operated venues\u2019 total gambling losses had been steadily decreasing since hitting a peak of $15.1 million in losses in 2008, which reflected a trend across the state.<\/p>\n Livingstone said COVID-19 restrictions prevented the operation of poker machines, but once they were lifted, gambling losses exceeded $10 million more than the previous year. He added that using pokies also provided an escape for those facing economic hardship amid increasing inflationary pressures.<\/p>\n \u201c[Poker machines] channel brain chemicals and make people feel good, and that\u2019s why people get addicted to them so easily. So in economic difficulties or in tough times, it\u2019s not hard to understand why pokies attract people, and why they tend to spend more money on them than they should,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ask in general what the reasons for people spending more money on pokies are \u2013 particularly at a time like this when a lot of people have insecure employment they don\u2019t have enough money to pay the bills \u2013 poker machines are very good at providing a sort of escape from reality.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least half of the money that goes through poker machines comes from people who are essentially addicted to them. For those people, the consequences are shattering.\u201d<\/p>\n Five AFL clubs have weaned themselves off poker machines over the past four years: Collingwood, Geelong, Hawthorn, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough the AFL is up to its armpits in gambling money from the online wagering companies, the reality is a lot of clubs are sensible enough to realise their reputation is not enhanced by taking money from essentially addicted people,\u201d Livingstone said.<\/p>\n Responding to the data, No Pokies at Essendon (NoPE) president Mike Read said:<\/p>\n \u201cIn recent years we have seen AFL clubs rush to get out of the pokies business, recognising the immense social harm they cause. Essendon, instead, points to the revenue that gaming machines provide the football club, as though yet another disappointing season on-field justifies the continued damage that the predatory machines inflict.<\/p>\n \u201cFor a long time now AFL clubs have been guided by commercial interests, but it\u2019s important that they don\u2019t forget they\u2019re also operating within communities. Part of that is to ensure they don\u2019t leave those communities worse off \u2013 an important test that the club, through their pokies operations, is currently failing.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the figures and NoPE\u2019s statement, the club pointed to a statement issued in May in response to an open letter from Essendon fans that urged the Bombers to abandon their poker machine licences : \u201cThe financial stability and independence of the club is paramount, and we won\u2019t compromise that by making a rushed short-term decision\u201d.<\/p>\n Gamblers lost $1.8 million at St Kilda\u2019s venue and $4.6 million at Richmond\u2019s \u2013 an increase of more than $300,000 and more than $1 million, respectively.<\/p>\n Across all of the state\u2019s gambling venues, gamblers sank more than $3 billion into the state\u2019s poker machines. This appears to be a steep rise when compared to the 2018-19 figure of $2.7 billion. But Livingstone said the rise could be attributed in part to inflation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing is inflation increased by 16 per cent over that period … Although it\u2019s a spectacular number \u2013 over $3 billion lost on pokies between July 2022 to June 2023 \u2013 in real terms, it\u2019s a little bit less than what was lost in the year between July 2018-June 2019.\u201d<\/p>\n In the 2018 financial year, when nine Victorian clubs had poker machine licences, the clubs\u2019 revenue from pokies was $97.5 million.<\/p>\n \u201cIf somebody has a serious pokie habit, it alters their life forever. They lose assets, they lose partnerships and relationships, they lose their employment, often they don\u2019t get a proper education and so on,\u201d Livingstone said.<\/p>\n