© VLGA GamblinginVictoria

2 Gambling in Australia $19 billion lost on gambling in 2008/2009 $12 billion on the pokies

© VLGA Gambling in Victoria Electronic Gaming Machines (pokies) Crown Casino Wagering (racing and sports betting) Lotteries Club Keno

© VLGA Gambling in Victoria is regulated by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) Online Gambling is regulated by the Commonwealth through the Interactive Gambling Act 2001 Regulation of gambling in Victoria

© VLGA Legal gambling losses in Victoria , $m

© VLGA Taxation raised from gambling in Victoria , $m

© VLGA Electronic Gaming Machines – EGMs As of 30 June 2012: There are 26,778 EGMs in Victoria, located in 509 venues Total losses of over $2.68 billion for The average net losses per adult were $601 The adult population per venue is 8,756

© VLGA Why focus on EGMs? Represent 40% of total losses of problem gamblers High level of convenience - 90% of people living in metropolitan Melbourne reside within 2.5 kms of an EGM venue Major impact on vulnerable communities - Braybrook, 2 nd most disadvantaged suburb in Victoria - high EGM losses - $15.5m in

© VLGA Victorian Government introduced EGM caps in 2001 and extended them across Victoria in 2006 Currently EGM Caps on 19 regions - set at a maximum of 10 EGMs per 1000 people Caps are intended to protect vulnerable communities from the harmful effects of gambling Caps will be reviewed by the State Government in October 2014 EGM caps

© VLGA EGM caps

© VLGA EGM caps

© VLGA Deregulation of EGM licences Ownership and distribution of EGM licences has been deregulated since August 2012 EGM Licences now owned by clubs and pubs across Victoria The new arrangements will mean that EGMs licences will move around the State Will lead to an increase in the number of applications from venues seeking to increase their EGM numbers

© VLGA EGM venue management Limit of 105 EGMs per venue ATMs banned from venues – replaced by EFTPOS machines which have no withdrawal limit Standard ‘pokies’ signs outside venues Venue staff trained to assist problem gamblers Restrictions on venue design and signage that encourages gambling

© VLGA EGM pre-commitment Involves EGM gamblers committing to restricting the amount of money they bet in each session Recommended by Productivity Commission Report into gambling along with $1 bet limits per play on machines Federal Government reneged on deal with Independent MP Andrew Wilkie to introduce mandatory pre-commitment - will instead establish trial of mandatory pre-commitment in the ACT

© VLGA Issues facing councils managing EGMs Increase in losses, particularly in vulnerable communities Increase in number and concentration of EGMs, particularly in uncapped areas Loss of appeals on decisions – number of cases rejected by the VCGLR and VCAT Lack of funding and resources to appeal against decisions or develop Local Planning Policies

© VLGA Problem gambling Industry behaviour Help services Gambler characteristics and behaviour Information Government behaviour AccessibilityGames featuresVenue features

© VLGA Impacts of problem gambling Problem gamblers Loss of income, anxiety, depression, other addictions, poor health, mental illness, suicide Their families Household budget pressures, housing stress, food security problems, relationship breakdown, family violence The local community ↑ social and economic disadvantage ↑ social exclusion - problem gamblers and their families withdraw from the local community ↑ in crime

© VLGA The VCEC Inquiry into problem gambling estimates that the total economic cost of problem gambling in the community was between $1.5 and $2.7 billion in The vast majority of the quantifiable costs comes from two sources: 1.Costs associated with financial losses to problem gamblers - $1 billion to $1.4 billion 2.The intangible costs associated with impacts on mental wellbeing for problem gamblers and their families $400 million to $1.2 billion Impacts of problem gambling

© VLGA Role of local government in managing EGMs Harm minimisation Protecting vulnerable communities from impacts of problem gambling Reducing convenient access to EGM venues

© VLGA What can councils do?POLICY Develop a social policy on gambling Include gambling in Municipal Public Health Plans ADVOCACY Victorian and Commonwealth Governments, VLGA Local Government Working Group on Gambling and other forums REGULATION Council can regulate the management of EGMs through Local Planning Scheme Policy and Differential Council Rates for EGM venues

© VLGA Statistics on number venues and number of EGMs in the municipality Statistics on losses from EGM venues and losses per adult, compared to other municipalities Impact of EGM gambling on vulnerable communities Impact of EGM gambling in (insert council name)