Losses by pokies players to poker machines in Canberra clubs have soared despite a government policy of cutting the number of machines to try to wean gamblers off pokies, an analysis by The Canberra Times has revealed.
Ten years ago, there were around 5000 machines in the ACT. Today, it's just over 3500. Despite that fall, the losses sustained by punters rose from $176 million to $188 million.
In the decade to the pandemic, total losses by poker machines gamblers in ACT clubs added up to $1.7 billion ($1,717,501,001, to be exact).
The government's plan was to reduce the number machines and so reduce the amount of gambling, and the harm that gambling causes some people.
But gamblers have just gambled more money on fewer machines.
Ten years ago (2012-13), each machine took $36,000 off Canberra club patrons. Ten years later (in 2022-23), each machine in ACT clubs "won" around $54,000 off punters.
Government policy was enshrined in the power-sharing agreement between Labor and Greens when they formed their coalition government in 2020. They agreed the way of "reducing harm from gaming" was "a further reduction in the number of electronic gaming machine licences in the ACT".
But the figures cast doubt on how much this weaning of people off pokies has actually happened. Even accounting for inflation, there has not been a significant dent in the total amount Canberrans lose to poker machines.
The Canberra Times analysis prompted ACT Gaming Minister Shane Rattenbury to say more needed to be done.
He accepted government policy had cut the number of machines and the number of venues operating those machines. But he added: "However, reducing machine numbers over many years is not a sufficient strategy."
Mr Rattenbury wants the ACT to introduce a system where each gamblers' losses would be limited. They would decide far from the poker machine row what they were prepared to lose. Machines would be connected to prevent a gambler switching machines to get around the self-imposed loss-limit.
He said these measures would "protect Canberrans from gambling harm".
But Labor, which has the majority in the coalition, is against networked machines. Its critics say Labor's opposition is because Labor clubs are propped up by poker machine revenue.
The ACT is now the only jurisdiction in Australia where all poker machines aren't linked in a network.
The harm from gambling was brought into focus when The Canberra Times published the tragic story of how one gambler, Raimo "Ray" Kasurinen, took his own life after losing hundreds of thousands on machines at the Hellenic Club.
His family said they had pleaded with the club to bar Mr Kasurinen and his now-widow, Marlene, from its machines.
Instead of acting to prevent the dead man sinking deeper into the debt which drove him over the edge, the family said the club kept welcoming him and even ferried food and drink to him as he poured the money he didn't have into its machines.
The bereaved family also said staff at the Hellenic Club would allow the couple to take tranches of $200 out of an EFTPOS machine near the poker machines. In some cases, bank records seen by The Canberra Times show three tranches of $200 (adding up to $600) were taken out by the Kasurinens in the space of less than two minutes.
In April, when the allegation that staff had facilitated the couple's gambling despite their addiction to it, the chief executive of the club, Ian Cameron, said: "The Hellenic Club takes seriously its role in relation to the responsible provision of gaming and our records demonstrate a consistent application of best-practice gaming harm-minimisation strategies.
"The Hellenic Club prides itself on strong member engagement, which extends to the exercise of a duty of care where we believe a member's gambling could become problematic."
The family is also furious at the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission which is meant to police the industry. Mr Kasurinen's son-in-law, retired policeman David Chambers, said he complained to the commission four years ago, shortly after the suicide - but no result to its investigation has been forthcoming.
Getting information about how much pokies players lost in particular clubs became more difficult in 2019.
Up until that year, the Gambling Commission published exact figures for losses by patrons at every club (what goes into a machine minus what goes out in prizes is known in the trade as Gross Gambling Machine Revenue or GGMR).
Since 2019, that figure for each club has not been readily available. The gambling commission was asked why but didn't give a response to the question.
On its figures for that year, the clubs where the punters lost the most were:
- The Southern Cross clubs ($26,084,519 on 552 machines);
- The Raiders clubs ($18,062,456 on 476 machines);
- Canberra Tradesmen's Union Club ($17,912,802 on 300 machines);
- Canberra Labor Club ($15,204,034 on 246 machines);
- Hellenic Club of Canberra ($12,161,734 on 204 machines).
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
