Pokies players lose a combined $17.1m

Money lost by players of pokies (electronic gaming machines) in Baw Baw Shire reached record levels last financial year.

Figures released for 2018-2019 by the Victorian Gambling and Liquor Commission reveal the figure for the shire soared past $17 million for the first time.

The total of losses at the shire’s four gaming venues was $17.178 million, a rise of about 4.5 per cent on the previous year.

That was despite losses across the state remaining virtually stable – a 0.13 per cent increase on a year earlier - but still amounting to almost $2.7 billion.

The record figure announced for Baw Baw Shire comes on the heels of an application made to VGLC for an additional 52 pokies machines in Warragul.

The application has been made by the Ellinbank Football Netball Club that plans to install them in the Newmason building in Mason St.

There are already three gaming venues in Warragul with a total of 210 machines.

Two of those locations – Warragul Club (Downtowner) with 100 EGMs and the Club Hotel with 30 – are within the central town area and the other, the Warragul Country Club that has 80 machines, is located about two kilometres away.

There are also 28 machines at the Family Hotel, Drouin.

If the Ellinbank FNC’s application is successful it would bring the number of pokies in Baw Baw to 262, still below the current populationbased state cap for the shire that was recently raised to 290.

While the overall total of money lost by players last financial year was a record in the shire losses dropped in the past six months compared to July-December last year.

Losses amounted to $8.828 million in the first six months of the financial year but fell almost half-a-million dollars to $8.346 million for January-June six months with the figures dropping at all four venues in the shire.