New Data Reveals LGA’s With Highest Pokies Losses

New data from the Department of Treasury and Finance has revealed Glenorchy has recorded the largest loss to poker machines while the state has combined for over $100 million in losses.

Glenorchy’s losses across hotel and club poker machines in the 2021/22 financial year was $19.6 million, while local government areas Launceston and Devonport recorded $16.8- and $10.6 million-dollar losses respectively.

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The state recorded a total loss of $108 million, averaging to almost a loss of $300,000 per day.

The data also identified the LGA’s with the most poker machines.

West Coast led the way with one machine for every 61 people, Devonport followed with one for every 114, whole Waratah-Wynyard had one per 130.

University of Sydney Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic Director Sally Gainsbury said the results showed people continued to gamble during tough financial periods such as high inflation even though it seemed counterintuitive.

“Gambling is very accessible and the idea of a jackpot can be increasingly alluring to people in situations of financial distress,” she said.

“(Another reason people are gambling now) is that the mental health consequences that are coming out of Covid are very acute and we know that there is a very high correlation between mental health comorbidity and gambling problems – that when you’re experiencing anxiety or distress and other mental health issues, gambling is often a maladaptive coping mechanism.”

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