Radio 693 3AW Melb. N. Mitchell program 5.12.18
Mayor S.Rennie, Darebin Council (NE Melb.), said the Council will ban any local community club/organisation which owns poker machines (whether in Darebin, or elsewhere) from using Council facilities; or obtaining funding from the Council. This includes their sporting grounds, & other Council venues. This ban will also apply to groups who simply receive sponsorship from non-affiliated poker machine venues.
This ban will also include local clubs who don't own pokies themselves- but have club functions at poker machine venues (eg RSL Clubs)!
Reservoir JFC obtains $20,000 pa sponsorship from Reservoir RSL, which has poker machines. Northcote FC, NFL Div.1, obtains $150,000 pa from poker machine clubs. Both are very opposed to this ban.
Rennie said that poker machine venues are supposed to spend c. 8.3% of poker machine club profits on local community groups- but she said some pokie venues were spending this on
themselves eg the pokie venues electricity costs.
There are 13 poker machine venues in Darebin, where their players (some of whom are addicts?) have c. $84,093,810 losses pa.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader...s/news-story/6c52d74698283aa8c3a82b874043f6e8
Total Losses in Vic. in 2018, from poker machines only, were a staggering $2.695 BILLION- the vast majority of pokies are in lower socio-economic areas! Disgusting!
http://www.pokiesplayyou.org.au/gamblingnews_170818
Neighbouring Moreland Council has a similar ban.
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader...s/news-story/c905626ecd23b805813f72f2e573e001
Many clubs will be financially crippled with these bans- but WA survives successfully without poker machines. (outside of its casino).
IMO, they are a great evil, & I would like to see them banned throughout Aust. (including all casino pokies).