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Date Published : Monday, April 14, 2008
Australians are spending as much as 78 per cent of their disposable income on pokie machines and other forms of gambling, a new survey has found.
According to the study by the New South Wales government's Gaming Social Impact Assessment Review, the amount spent on pokies is growing much faster than first thought, with the introduction of credit card-operated machines thought to behind the increase.
The report, which was drawn up before the state government's recent review of the Gaming Act, found that families in Fairfield - in Sydney's western suburbs - were the worst hit, with each adult spending nearly $2,500 on pokies every year, much of it paid for on credit cards.
Meanwhile, people in Bankstown spent an average of 33 per cent of their disposable income on machines in pubs, casinos and hotels, the Daily Telegraph reports.
One gaming expert told the publication: "It is quite obvious from our study that in the longer term, particularly for those areas with high density, providing some incentives or decreasing some machines is very important if we are to reduce the harm on vulnerable populations."
The statistics came as the Salvation Army revealed it was forced to extend its own welfare limit - specifically due to poker machine gambling.
Recent research by the Queensland Office of Gaming Regulation found that punters in the sunshine state lost $1.784 billion on the 42,000 gaming machines in various locations around the region last year.
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