Over the course of the past few years, clubs in the Australian Football League have become increasingly dependent on poker machine profits. They use the funds generated by their pokies to help fund their training and other essentials – and new statistics show that upwards of 20% of all clubs’ profits come from operating electronic gambling devices.
Australia’s Financial Review has found that 10 of the 11 Melbourne-based AFL clubs derive a significant portion of their profits from pokies. While their total revenue was $440 million, pokies helped to contribute $80 million. Of all AFL clubs based in Melbourne, Collingwood earned the most from its pokies with $4.5 million, taken from $19.5 million in profits.
The club operates 190 pokies across Victoria. The only club with more pokies is Carlton, which operates 220 pokies in Melbourne and earned more than $15 million in 2012. While AFL clubs enjoy reaping the benefits of poker machine operation, but the league itself wants to offer alternatives.
Since several clubs have dug themselves millions of dollars in debt due to poker machine licensing costs, AFL Chief Andrew Demetriou gave clubs the chance to depend less on pokies by offering to put their pokies up for sale. He was not taken up on his offer. The only team in the city that has refused to accept poker machine profits is North Melbourne.
The club signed a deal with World Vision Australia in 2012, which restricts North Melbourne from accepting any profits derived from gambling. Clubs in the National Rugby League have different opinions, however. The league aims to reduce the amount of funding that clubs receive from gambling profits – and clubs are cooperating.
From 2008 to 2012, there has been a $20 million decline in the amount of pokie profits that clubs have received. To offset the loss, NRL clubs receive a healthy helping of funding thanks to the league’s new $1 billion broadcasting deal with Nine and Foxtel.
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