Poker machines have become an expected sight for any trip to our local club or pub. While you have dinner with friends or family, colourful lights illuminate the frosted glass panels separating the dining area from the gaming lounge. As an eager patron disappears beyond the separation, we hold a common understanding – it’s all a bit of fun. It’s understood they’ll probably walk out disappointed, but what does that mean if their local RSL or sports club can continue to run.
Clubs and pubs have been the glue holding communities together for generations. Poker machines are new additions, only legalised in Victoria in 1991. The legislation, passed by the Kirner Labour Government, provided a solution to the slowing of Federal funds after the 1990 recession. The move promised billions in tax revenue and ability to capture the $400 million flowing to pokies across the NSW border.
The Map below shows the location of venues and the number of machines they are licenced to run.
Research from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation shows the association of pokies with community activities and organisations may create a perception of harms being outweighed by the community benefit of the machines. This perception is centred on contributions made by pokies to local sporting groups and charities, and the non-gambling activities forming an important part of the social fabric of regional communities.
In the last financial year, Victorians lost $2.7 billion on pokies, the second-highest amount since the introduction. (This does not include Crown Casino which operates over 2,600 machines and comes under a separate area of law). Annual reporting of losses create the fodder for cycler campaigns to question all aspects of the continued place pokies hold in our communities and our state budget.
The chart below compares the size of losses by Local Government Area and by the venues within.
Although these losses are a strong issue to consider, each campaign push receives the same defence to extinguish any public conversation – “we can’t afford not to have pokies” – it’s all for the community benefit. Harnessing the hand-in-glove perception linked to the social good of the venues, it’s hard for the community to find fault in this argument.
But what is community benefit?
The Gambling Regulation Act requires for each venue to contributed 8.33% of their total annual revenue back as ‘Community Benefit’. These must be submitted in a community benefit statement and are broken down into the following classes.
Class A covers any donations, gifts and sponsorships which meet a social need, such as housing assistance, poverty relief and services for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling or drug and alcohol dependency. It also includes benefits given to club members, such as food and service discounts.
Class B covers any capital expenditure and operating costs. This is mostly staff wages, building and maintaining facilities, and even electricity bills.
Class C covers any required responsible gambling measures, reimbursements to volunteers and cost of preparing the statements.
The chart below shows the breakdown of community benefit submitted for the 17/18 financial year.
We can see by the chart, over 75% of the community benefit it directed towards Class B – paying staff, building and maintaining their premises, and not so much the expected directly benefits the communities in which they operate.
A breakdown of Class A reveals the extent to which it also skews towards the benefits for club members. Class A (a) is donations, gifts and sponsorship, Class A (b) is the cost of providing and maintaining sporting facilities for use by club members and Class A (c) is the cost of any subsidy for the provision of goods and services.
Less than a third was spent on Class A (a), even though it captures the essence of what the public perceives community benefit to be.
It’s a difficult subject to asses in its wholeness, held back by the influence tax revenue, political donations and powerful lobbies hold over it. But it’s a conversation Victoria needs to have.
So, how much does your community get back? Is it really a benefit? Use the map below to find information on each club venue that has reported their community benefit.
Note: as at the time of publishing, only 237 clubs had submitted their community benefit statements. For further information on clubs which may have since done so, please visit the VCGR website.
