Pokies suck in $213m

Damien Brown Mercury
TASMANIANS lost $213 million on pokies last financial year — an increase of $13 million on 2006-07. Gamblers in Glenorchy spent the most on poker machines — more than anywhere else in the state. The Tasmanian Gaming Commission has published how much each municipality spends on the pokies. Greens gaming spokesman Kim Booth said even more alarming was that $117 million of that total figure was lost in local pubs and clubs — the rest in casinos. That figure increased from $112 million the previous year with most spending occurring in lower socio-economic areas. Glenorchy spent $20.6 million on gaming machines during the financial year. The second highest spenders on pokies were in Launceston, losing $18.5 million. A group of smaller municipalities including Break O’Day, Brighton, Circular Head, Derwent Valley, Kentish, King Island, Kingborough, Latrobe, Meander Valley, Northern Midlands and Southern Midlands were combined for their expenditure tally, which amounted to $16.9 million. Read more here
What Tasmanian Times thinks of pokies: Read here