A dispute over adding more pokies to a Ballarat Central pub has been elevated to VCAT.
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The first day of hearings between the Robin Hood Hotel and the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation began on Friday.
It's understood the pub is appealing a decision made by the VCGLR in June, when its application for eight more electronic gaming machines, or pokies, was rejected.
The Robin Hood Hotel currently has 20 EGMs on its Peel Street premises, and applied for eight more to help bring in more revenue to improve its infrastructure.
The application was opposed by the City of Ballarat.
In reasons for the decision released in August, the VCGLR noted there was a slight positive community benefit if the application was granted, based on its rubric, but still rejected the application, as the pub had allegedly not paid community benefits funding it had promised in 2012.
In its initial application for EGMs in 2012, the pub committed to paying $50,000 per year to community groups and sporting clubs, but in eight years, it had only paid about $120,000 of the $400,000 expected, and had never actually paid a full $50,000 in a year.
The pub's representatives admitted this to the VCGLR in its application hearing, and said if the application was granted, it would commit to paying an extra $10,000 per year on top of the $50,000.
The appeal is currently before VCAT - the City of Ballarat declined to comment, and the Robin Hood Hotel was phoned for comment.
Despite repeated lockdowns, more than $33 million was lost through Ballarat pokie machines in the 2020-21 financial year.
- Need to talk? Phone Gambler's Help on 1800 858 858, Ballarat Cafs on 5337 3333, or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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