Ballarat punters spent a whopping $64,360,765.84 on pokies during the 2022/23 financial year, statistics from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission have revealed.
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This means more than $175,000 was spent on the gaming machines every day in the City of Ballarat over the past 12 months.
The eye-watering sum is an increase of over $13 million compared to the previous financial year, but this difference may have been affected by COVID-19 lockdowns in 2021.
July, 2022, was the month with the highest expenditure on pokies, totaling $5,945,151.42, while the average monthly spend was $5,363,397.15.
The Ballarat Club Hotel raked in the most revenue from machines with $14,202,393.12 spent, unsurprisingly it is also the venue with the most machines, with a total of 105.
The second highest expenditure was at the Blue Bell Hotel in Wendouree, where pokies expenditure totaled $7,595,146.19.
Other venues in the City of Ballarat which collected over $5 million revenue from gaming machines were the Ballarat & District Trotting Club, Craig's Royal Hotel and Sebastopol Bowling Club.
In comparison, people in Ballarat's regional neighbour of Bendigo spent about $5 million less on pokies during the 2022/23 financial year, with a total of $59,081,305.95.
But, this sum also increased from the previous financial year by slightly more than $13 million.
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It comes as the Victorian government announced reforms to the state's gambling laws in July, 2023, with the aim of reducing the harm of pokies machines.
The reforms will include spending limits, introduce mandatory closure periods from mid-2024 and make all new pokies machines spin at a slower speed.
In a statement, premier Daniel Andrews said the reforms would provide the strongest gambling harm prevention in Australia.
"We owe it to all Victorians to take this stance and help those experiencing harm turn their lives around," he said.
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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