Pokies have been in Australia’s spotlight lately, as politicians and gambling groups have battled it out over poker machine reform. Now that reform has been passed, it was anticipated that we would not hear very much news about pokies for quite some time; however, that has not been the case, as reports have published some shocking statistics about pokies spending over the course of the past year.

According to a new study by Roy Morgan Research, pokies spending has dropped by an incredible$1 billion from September 2011 to September 2012. This year, spending reached just $10.2 billion. While this still seems like an impressive take-home for gaming operators, it means less taxes for the government and less funding for local organizations. Victoria’s drop in pokies spending is one of the major contributors to this decline.

Over the course of the past year, players spent $62 million less on poker machines, thanks to the introduction of an ATM ban in land-based pokies clubs. The negative press that pokies received during the pokie reform debate is also likely to have influenced spending. Players are likely to have reduced their spending as a result of hearing about rising rates of problem gambling across Australia.

In fact, many forms of gambling have suffered over the course of 2012. Land-based casino gambling has also declined, leaving casino operators like Crown Casinos and Echo Entertainment looking for ways to increase business once again. Both operators want to expand their business; Echo, by expanding The Star into a resort property and Crown, by opening up a new casino in Bangaroo for High Roller customers.

The only form of gambling that has thrived this year has been online sportsbetting, as companies like TAB have raked in $1.1 billion (an increase from 2011’s $900 million). The secret behind their success seems to be advertising, as Roy Morgan uncovered that online sportsbetting operators spend upwards of $350 million on ubiquitous ad campaigns and sponsorship deals.

This is significantly higher gambling expenditure than pokies operator Woolworths, which spends just over $200 million; so, there may be a correlation between marketing budgets and success in the local gambling market.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.