The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has been quite busy lately, especially when it comes to hearing disputes over the addition of poker machines in various venues. This week, the VCAT has made its latest pokies-related decision, allowing the Whittlesea Bowls Club to add 10 new poker machines for patrons to enjoy. Members of the local community tried their hardest to stop the venue from adding new pokies.
The main argument was that 2009’s Black Saturday had caused financial turmoil that has yet to be resolved, forcing a rise in problem gambling in the area – and the addition of poker machines would only make things worse. However, VCAT representatives were not convinced.
“Why should one assume the aftermath of the fires will definitely lead to an inevitable increase in problem gambling?” asked Noreen Megay, a senior member of the VCAT. Megay was not at all impressed with the lengths to which community groups had gone to suggest that more pokies would do more harm than good in Whittlesea.
She called the argument a "leap too far", and stated that the addition of just 10 new games would have more of a positive impact on the local community. Those opposing the new games cited statistics showing that Whittlesea gamblers spent $102 million on pokies in 2012. This equates to more than $700 per person and, while Megay understands the distate for gambling, she does not believe that it is entirely harmful.
She states that the new games will not only create more jobs but also provide a boost to pokie grant organizations. There is a positive correlation between the number of pokies in an area and the amount of money that not-for-profit groups and initiatives receive. There is no such correlation between pokies and problem gambling rates.
As such, Megay and the VCAT have given Whittlesea Bowls Club the approval required to install ten new pokies.
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