The history of slot machines in Victoria began back in 1991, with the passing of legislation by then Labour Premier Joan Kirner to allow the machines in local Hotels and Pubs (Livingstone 2015). Expanded further under the subsequent Kennett Liberal Government, the flashing lights and jingles have become entrenched in our gambling fanatic culture, part of a $3 billion industry synonymous with modern suburbia.
To understand the context surrounding their onset in Victoria, one must understand that the early 90s were a time of severe recession and hardship for many in the state, and state governments found themselves heavily in debt and strapped for cash. Poker machines were seen as the Golden Goose, a source of significant income which until then had been flowing into NSW, where the machines had been legalised for decades.
The dilemma lies in what they have now become, three decades on; a source of over $1 billion in revenue for the state, whilst simultaneously contributing to addiction, inequality and despair in some of Victoria’s most disadvantaged communities.

• LGA: Local Government Area
• EGM: Electronic gaming machines
• SEIFA Score: Socio-Economic Index for Area, a lower score indicates that an area is relatively disadvantaged compared to an area with a higher score.
• SEIFA Rank: A ranking of SEIFA scores by LGA. A high rank indicates a high amount of disadvantage, for example 1st ranking means the LGA is the most disadvantaged in the state.
• Player Losses: Amount of money lost by gaming patrons at registered venue. Also referred to as ‘Expenditure’
• Region: Gaming venues are classified one of two regions, Country or Metro
• Venue Type: Gaming venues are classified one of two types, Hotel or Club

The below figure, shows the average losses per adult by LGA, from July 2018 to June 2019 (the most recent reporting period).

Notes:

• The Player Losses may be from individuals outside the specified LGA.

The below chart shows the growth in total Player Losses from 1993 - 2020.
The blue and green lines indicate the top or bottom 50% of LGAs by SEIFA score. E.g. the blue line represents the 50% of LGAs which are most disadvantaged. The red line indicates the total expenditure. On the right hand side, we can see the significant impact of COVID-19 restrictions on gambling expenditure. Could this be a circuit breaker event, or will the industry witness an aggresive bounce back? Only time will tell…

Notes:

• This metric does not factor population growth.

Can you spot the trend below?
The below animation compares an area’s SEIFA score (level of disadvantage) with it’s per adult Player Losses from 2009 - 2019. Over time the correlation appears to be increasing.

Notes:

• Size of each marker represents the population of the LGA

With so many losing, there must be someone winning right?
The below chart shows every registered gaming venue in Victoria (minus Crown Casino), with the colour representing the total Player Losses at that venue from July 2018 - June 2019 (most recent reporting period).

Notes:

• Size of each marker represents the current number of EGM’s per venue.
• Click each location for more details

The below animation depicts the top 10 gaming venues in Victoria by year.

So where to from here?
You can find more information about Poker Machine reform or get involved at the Australian Alliance for Gambling Reform. https://www.pokiesplayyou.org.au/the_alliance

I’ll leave you with a soulful melody composed by Tim Freedman of Australian band, The Whitlams. The song tells the story of Freedman’s fellow bandmate, a gambling addict, who in 1999 committed suicide after blowing an entire week’s wages on Poker Machines (Rooke 2018).

The song directly references the Victorian Governments justification for introducing Poker Machines, and its most confronting irony, being to invest in public works at the expense of those most in need; “taking the food off the table, so they can say the trains are on time”.

Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation 2012, VCGR: Venues Details, Vic.gov.au, Victorian Government, viewed 20 October 2020, https://apps.vcglr.vic.gov.au/CA256F800017E8D4/VCGLR/DBB69322DE84ADA6CA257B320077C8D3?OpenDocument

Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources 2020, VIC Local Government Areas - Geoscape Administrative Boundaries, Data.gov.au, viewed 20 October 2020, https://data.gov.au/dataset/ds-dga-bdf92691-c6fe-42b9-a0e2-a4cd716fa811/details

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Historical LGA Population density & gaming expenditure statistics, Vic.gov.au, viewed 20 October 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/historical-lga-population-density-gaming-expenditure-statistics

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Historical Yearly Gaming Expenditure (1992-2000), Vic.gov.au, viewed 1 November 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/historical-yearly-gaming-expenditure-1992-2000

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Historical Yearly Gaming Expenditure (2000-2003), Vic.gov.au, viewed 1 November 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/historical-yearly-gaming-expenditure-2000-2003

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Historical Yearly Gaming Expenditure (2002-2020),, Vic.gov.au, viewed 25 October 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/historical-yearly-gaming-expenditure

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Historical Gaming Expenditure by Venue, Vic.gov.au, viewed 1 November 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/historical-gaming-expenditure-by-venue

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Current Gaming Expenditure by LGA-monthly, Vic.gov.au, viewed 25 October 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/current-gaming-expenditure-by-lga-monthly

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Current LGA Population density & gaming expenditures statistics, Vic.gov.au, viewed 1 November 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/current-lga-population-density-gaming-expenditures-statistics

Department of Justice and Community Safety 2020, Current Gaming Expenditure by Venue, Vic.gov.au, viewed 1 November 2020, https://discover.data.vic.gov.au/dataset/current-gaming-expenditure-by-venue

Livingstone, C 2015, Pokies in Victoria: Joan Kirner’s difficult legacy, The Conversation, viewed 27 October 2020, https://theconversation.com/pokies-in-victoria-joan-kirners-difficult-legacy-42689.

Rooke, D 2018, Blow up the pokies: the misery and destruction of Australia’s poker machines, the Guardian, The Guardian, viewed 27 October 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/may/25/blow-up-the-pokies-the-misery-and-destruction-of-australias-poker-machines.

Abdul MajedRaja RS 2019, Create Trending Animated Bar Charts using R - Towards Data Science, Medium, Towards Data Science, viewed 1 November 2020, https://towardsdatascience.com/create-animated-bar-charts-using-r-31d09e5841da