NSW residents lost AU$8.1bn to pokies in 2023

New South Wales residents have lost a cumulative AU$8.1bn on poker machines in 2023 alone, a new media report by 9News stated, citing Wesley Mission, an anti-gambling group, which has kept close tabs on resident losses. This is the highest tally suffered by Australians on record, with poker machines in the state expanding to 87,545 last year.

The loss is not as significant as the amount suggests at first glance, as this is a $29m increase from a year prior in 2022, but it nevertheless translates to $1,000 more lost per adult in NSW. According to Reverend Stu Cameron, Wesley Mission Chief Executive, the government needs to act tougher on gambling and initiate a strategic reform that would lead to a reduction of gambling losses.

Some of the steps suggested by Cameron have to do with switching off poker machines between midnight and 10 am, which will drive down losses. Cameron also spoke about the role that hotels play in attracting losses and gamblers. Hotels, Cameron noted, have 25% of all state poker machines, but account for 44% of the losses.

Cameron, though, worries more pressingly about the fact that losses continue to climb on an annual basis. There have been efforts to rein in the losses, of course. A measure to remove external gambling-related signage has already taken hold in the state, and there are several tests into cashless gambling which are supposed to curb both money-laundering as well and help raise standards for safer and responsible gambling.

In the meantime, the local regulator has been hitting against some of the biggest gambling companies in the land-based sector, threatening to take away their licenses, or doing so already. Standards for safer and responsible gambling are rising, but Cameron and Wesley Mission believe there is more that can be done, as indicated by the latest gambling losses tally generated by pokies.

Image credit: Unsplash.com