Gambling losses in Ballarat hit a concerning high of almost $6 million in July, with numbers steadily rising post-lockdown.
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Total player losses across 14 licensed venues in the City of Ballarat were $5,945,151.42 for July, which may be one of the highest monthly totals recorded in Ballarat.
That's more than $190,000 every day.
It's a significant increase from the $5.2 million recorded in June - in the 2021-22 financial year, which was affected by lockdown closures, total pokie losses were more than $51 million.
It's also far more than the City of Greater Bendigo, which has 11 venues that lost $5.2 million in July.
Gambling harm minimisation advocates stated their concern about the growing total, and encouraged people to seek help early if they were experiencing problems - there were hopes that lockdowns could break the cycle for people having issues, but instead spending on pokies has increased.
Cafs Ballarat offers Gamblers Help support, as well as free confidential financial counselling "from a position of empathy," and encouraging alternative activities.
Cafs' Gamblers Help community engagement officer John Bradshaw said on average, six people are affected for every one person experiencing issues with gambling.
"As our budgets start to squeeze (from cost of living pressures), the danger is people will look to gambling as a way of managing their budget, which is really dangerous," he said.
"We've certainly seen a spike in demand for financial counselling services, which is tied into cost of living.
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He added Cafs can organise programs for schools focusing on financial literacy, gambling in gaming, and the risks of sports betting - he encouraged teachers to email him to find out more; while Cafs is also supporting outreach programs through Sebastopol's Libraries After Dark and other organisations.
Gambling Harm Awareness Week begins October 17, and Cafs will also run education and social inclusion events.
"Seek help sooner rather than later - we always talk about planting the seed for hope and recovery," Mr Bradshaw said.
Need to talk? Phone Gambler's Help on 1800 858 858, Ballarat Cafs on 5337 3333, or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.
