AFL clubs rake in over $20MILLION from the pokies with four Victorian clubs still relying on them

Four Victorian AFL clubs that continue to raise money from slot machines have been urged to get rid of the machines as the cost of gambling in the Victorian and Australian community has been exposed.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australians lost an estimated $25 billion in legal gambling in 2018-19, the largest per capita loss in the world.

Four AFL clubs – Carlton, Essendon, Richmond and St Kilda – own a total of eight card rooms and 670 poker machines, according to a recent analysis of data from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission.

The report shows that between July and December 2022, players lost a staggering $20.9 million at these venues.

The analysis revealed that Carlton generated the highest revenue from games of any AFL club in Victoria, with four venues and 300 machines. In the second half of last year, players lost nearly $10 million at Carlton-owned venues alone.

Over the course of the 2021-2022 fiscal year, players lost a total of $29.9 million at AFL-owned venues, though this figure was lower than in previous years due in part to COVID-19 lockdowns in the second half. of 2021.

Gambling has been estimated to cost around $7 billion in Victoria alone, including adverse financial costs, emotional and psychological impacts, and relationship and employment losses.

In the last four years, Collingwood, Geelong, Hawthorn, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs have been weaned off the poker machines.

Deakin University public health professor Samantha Thomas has called for the remaining AFL clubs to be depleted.

“There is increasing community awareness of the significant damage these products cause to local communities and symbolically it is important that AFL clubs begin to transition away from owning these machines or the venues they own. these machines,” Thomas said. Age.

‘However, there is a structural problem because the machines and places are sold and still remain in the community.

“We are now seeing increasing pressure from a variety of different stakeholders for governments to ensure that there are mechanisms in place when clubs cease to own the poker machines, that they do not transfer elsewhere and continue to cause damage.

“Maybe that means something like government buyback schemes or incentives to ensure these machines don’t stay in our communities are becoming increasingly important to prevent harm.”

According to gambling reform campaigner Tim Costello, the four AFL clubs that still own gaming venues in Victoria “have really failed in their leadership responsibilities to the wider community”.

“We now know that the damage from slot machines is quite extraordinary because the machines are designed for addiction. They are designed to keep you playing as long as you can and losing as much as you can,” he said.

‘It’s the exact opposite of what the clubs say their raison d’être is, to be great partners in the community. What worries me is the lack of moral leadership.

“There are clubs that have left, it was not easy, they received a blow, but they said it was the right thing to do. The four clubs that are still in it have just said things like, ‘Yeah, we don’t like them, yeah, it would be nice to get out,’ and then they literally have a motto of, ‘Whatever it takes.’

‘They wouldn’t take money from other legal adult products…they wouldn’t take money from the Victorian Brothel Association, they wouldn’t take money from the tobacco association, which is legal. This really is a failure of moral leadership. And there should be a level playing field when there is an adult product that does harm to the community,” she said.

‘To say we are reintroducing drip feeding is just a greenwash. It’s transparent nonsense.

carlton

In 2020, the Carlton Football Club made headlines when it revealed its plans to move away from the poker machine industry. However, one of his biggest supporters has been Bruce Mathieson, a prominent billionaire in the gaming industry, whose son Craig sits on the Blues board.

Bruce Mathieson stepped down as a director of the $13 billion Endeavor Group in September 2021. The Endeavor Group is the largest owner of poker machines in Australia.

essendon

In 2018, Melton City Council voted unanimously to extend Essendon Football Club’s lease for Melton Country Club by 29 years, allowing the club to continue to operate the venue and its 89 poker machines until 2047.

The lease extension was granted after the players lost a total of $5.69 million in 2017-18. In addition, Essendon Football Club also owns 101 poker machines at Windy Hill.

Interestingly, just a month before the announcement of Melton Country Club’s lease extension, Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell made a statement to The Age, expressing the club’s desire to reduce reliance on gambling revenue.

Campbell stated that the club had been investing heavily in its strategy and investment divisions to explore other opportunities in this space.

st kilda

The Saints’ debt grew from $10 million to $12 million in 2018, making it difficult for the club to divorce its slot machines.

While the Saints have come a long way since then, shrinking their debut to just over $7 million by the end of 2022, the club is still reliant on its slots. The club issued a statement in 2019 saying it was working to identify alternative sources of income.

“The club is working to identify alternative sources of income to enable it to reduce its reliance on gaming, where financially viable,” the club said.

“The club has entered initial discussions with the AFL on an industry-wide approach to reduce gaming revenue in the industry.”

richmond

Former Richmond Football Club president Peggy O’Neal stated in a letter to members in late 2020 that the club was able to consider its long-term position on games after settling litigation relating to the Wantirna Club lease. .

O’Neal’s statement suggested Richmond may have been considering divesting from gambling operations. However, the club continues to generate profits from the poker machines despite O’Neal’s comments.