Victorian AFL clubs raked in $40m from poker machines last financial year

Harm minimization proponents and fan organizations were incensed as four AFL teams from the Victorian era attained over $40 million from gaming machines during the previous fiscal year.

Data from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission reveals that Carlton remains the team that heavily depends on gambling machines, commonly known as pokies. The club was able to accumulate a significant amount of $19.1 million through 290 machines at four different locations, resulting in an average of $65,954 per machine.

Richmond acquired a total of $4.6 million by means of 97 machines stationed at the Wantirna Club located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. On average, each machine yielded approximately $47,573. In a similar fashion, St Kilda obtained $1.8 million from 83 machines situated at its Moorabbin headquarters.

Essendon was granted a sum of $14.7 million from 190 gaming devices located at two establishments. This amount, as stated by the organization No Pokies at Essendon, happens to be the highest received since 2007. Mike Read, the president of the group, noted that the club suffered significant defeats on the sports field this year, as well as substantial losses resulting from gambling activities off the field.

"In the past few years, we have witnessed Australian Football League (AFL) teams hastily withdrawing from the gambling industry, acknowledging the significant adverse effects it has on society," stated Read.

On the contrary, Essendon highlights the financial contribution that gaming machines make to the football club, as if another unsatisfactory season on the football field excuses the ongoing harm caused by these exploitative machines.

The Essendon group called No Pokies enjoys the backing of an ardent supporter of the team in the national government: Zoe Daniel, an independent Member of Parliament. She believes that football clubs should refrain from exploiting their followers for financial gain through gambling activities.

"This business model is defective, draining money from the least protected individuals in our society and focusing on the youth," expressed Daniel.

Get subscribed to Guardian Australia’s complimentary morning and afternoon email newsletters to receive all the latest news updates on a daily basis.

A representative from Essendon expressed that, due to the movement away from Covid, the club still heavily depends on the income produced by our gambling devices. Consequently, any determination concerning the venues' future in the long run will be cautiously evaluated by the board.

"The utmost importance lies in ensuring the club's financial stability and autonomy, and we will not jeopardize it by hastily making a decision focused solely on the short term," expressed the representative.

Richmond, St Kilda, Essendon, and Carlton are active participants of the Love the Game campaign initiated by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation. This campaign primarily focuses on promoting awareness of the detrimental effects of gambling on young individuals.

Carol Bennet, the head honcho of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, expressed skepticism about the clubs' participation in the project since they had received millions of dollars in gambling earnings.

"If you are making a fortune from your poker machines, it's evident that you have the luxury of being selective when it comes to choosing sponsors," stated Bennet.

"If they truly prioritize achieving success as a football team and contributing to their surrounding communities, they should follow the example set by Collingwood, Melbourne, Geelong, and the Western Bulldogs. All of these teams have abandoned poker machines and have achieved a total of seven premierships collectively since making that decision."

In 2008, North Melbourne became the initial AFL club in Victoria to distance itself from poker machines. Even after eight years, it remained the sole club without pokies, and its leadership team dismissed allegations that its ability to divest was solely due to financial assistance from the AFL.

"At the time, the club's former CEO Carl Dilena confidently stated that the argument was debunked since there are other clubs receiving equal if not higher amounts of funding from the AFL, and they do have gaming facilities."

In the month of July, during the year 2022, Hawthorn decided to part ways with its two establishments dedicated to poker machines located in Caroline Springs and Mulgrave. On the other hand, Collingwood had made the decision to depart from this sector back in 2018, subsequently transferring the ownership of their 156 machines to the Melbourne Racing Club.

Eddie McGuire, the ex-president of Collingwood, characterized the transaction as a "wise business move" whereby the income generated from the sale of machines would be invested in a forthcoming fund to support the club's journey towards becoming a "self-sufficient and forward-thinking sports organization".

Samantha Thomas, a scholar studying gambling at Deakin University, emphasized the vital need for the Victorian government to promptly introduce buyback programs in order to aid all AFL clubs in severing their ties with poker machines.

Thomas expressed that he strongly opposes machines being resold without considering the potential harm they may cause.

Significantly decreasing the count of machines in the neighborhood is one of the most explicit methods we employ to avoid the negative consequences of these products and reconstruct more sustainable communities.

According to proponents of gambling reform, approximately 40% of the monetary losses in electronic gaming machines are attributed to individuals who are at a higher risk of developing gambling-related problems.