To raise funds for their operation, many sports clubs across Australia run poker machine venues. The profits from these venues are used to pay for infrastructure, sporting grounds and the transportation of teams – but a recent report suggests that clubs may be relying too much on the money that they generate from their pokie clubs. The Age recently performed an analysis of clubs that own gaming venues.
It found that clubs owned by football, cricket, racing, bowls and golf leagues generated $2.5 billion over the course of the 2013-14 financial year. In addition, many teams benefit indirectly from pokie profits by receiving grants and funding from the gaming industry.
Neill Murray, Chief Operating Officer of Community Clubs Victoria, maintains that that the revenue from gaming builds infrastructure in the sports industry and that sports would suffer without pokies. He also states that the venue offer up an opportunity for socialising, and community members can interact with others to create valuable connections.
"In creating community infrastructure, clubs are also providing opportunities for people of like mind to meet and socialise, thereby addressing in part one of our society's greatest illnesses – loneliness,” he says. However, gambling researcher Charles Livingstone disagrees with the notion that pokie revenue is essential for infrastructure.
He states that it is ‘complete nonsense’ that clubs would not be able to survive without gaming revenue. There are many other ways to raise funds for the operation costs of sports teams, but gambling and sport have become intertwined in recent years and it is becoming difficult to detangle the two industries. Bowls and golf clubs own the most pokie venues in Victoria, operating 39 clubs.
Football clubs operate 11 and racing clubs operate 6. Basketball operates 2 while soccer and rowing both operate one each. There are also several mixed-sport clubs.
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