Georges River was the sixth highest local government area in Sydney for poker machine losses in 2023, according to figures from the Department of Liquor and Gaming.
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Georges River showed a net loss on poker machines of $250,244,863 in 2023 compared with $236,033,384 in 2022.
This was an increased loss of $13,311,479 or 5.3 per cent.
In the final quarter of 2023, Georges River LGAs saw losses almost $65 million on 2082 poker machines across 31 premises.
During this period there was a loss of $35,328,000 on 1,642 machines in the LGA's 15 clubs and $29,428,000 on the 440 poker machines in the LGA's 16 hotels.
The top nine Sydney metropolitan LGAs for poker machine losses were: 1.Canterbury-Bankstown, 2.Fairfield, 3.Cumberland, 4.Sydney, 5.Blacktown, 6 Georges River, 7. Parramatta, 8. Penrith, and 9. Campbelltown.
There was a shift to gambling in hotels compared with clubs, according to analysis by Wesley Mission.
The people of NSW lost $8.129 billion to poker machines in 2023, an increase of $29 million on 2022 and the equivalent of $1,000 for every adult and child in the state.
At the end of 2023, NSW had 87,545 poker machines in pubs and clubs, 895 more machines than at the end of 2022 despite a commitment from the NSW Government to reduce the number of poker machines in the state.
Wesley Mission Chief Executive Officer, the Reverend Stu Cameron says the record losses highlights the need for the NSW
Government to act urgently on introducing reforms that will reduce the record levels of gambling harm being experienced by the people of NSW.
"While we wait for the outcome of the current pre-implementation testing of cashless gambling in
NSW, there are a range of reforms the government can introduce this year that will have an immediate impact on reducing harm," he said.
"The government's own research shows the increased danger of harm occurring to people gambling after midnight. We urge the government to act now on powering down poker machines between midnight and 10am."
Mr Cameron says NSW has already seen a positive impact from reforms introduced by the NSW Government in 2023.
"The enforcing of signage bans in NSW had a genuine impact on reducing harm. Our Community Attitudes survey in October 2023 2 revealed that 25 per cent of people who gamble on poker machines at least once a month said they were less likely to gamble following the removal of VIP Lounge signage".
The 2023 losses continue to reveal an increasing percentage of losses to the 22,488 poker machines in hotels, while losses in clubs have begun to plateau. Losses in hotels in 2023 rose to $3.55 billion, up from $3.49 billion in 2022.
"Despite only having 25 per cent of the state's poker machines, hotels account for 44 per cent of all losses in NSW, and this percentage is increasing year on year", says Rev Cameron.
Losses to the 65,057 poker machines in clubs in 2023 amounted to $4.57 billion, a drop of
approximately $35 million on the previous year.
Once more losses across all venues were concentrated in the state's most disadvantage LGAs.
