GAMING FIGURES SHOW DEMAND, EVEN WITHOUT SUPPLY
Article by Clyde Mooney, PubTIC
The latest gaming figures from ILGA counter the old argument that supply is the key factor in the proliferation of gaming. It clearly shows gaming revenue is rising as machine numbers fall.
The 2014-15 report into gaming in NSW by the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) released last week shows an overall increase in gaming turnover through poker machines of six per cent.
One of the less expected facts behind this modest increase is that 244 machines were removed from circulation, as part of ILGA’s program to resume one machine per three sold (as per the Gaming Machine Act 2001).
The top-grossing districts remained relatively unchanged, with the western Sydney LGA (Local Government Area) of Fairfield blitzing the field – turning over 207% times that of second-placed Canterbury. The money put through poker machines in Fairfield LGA amounted to 10.5 per cent of the State’s total.
In fact the top ten districts accounted for the lion’s share of gaming spend: 43% of revenue from the State’s 147 LGAs, from just 27.% of the machines.
New South Wales currently licenses 89,761 EGMs, of which 25.67% are in hotels, and 74.33% in Clubs.
Clubs hold an average of 1:3 times as many machines in most LGAs, including the top 10 – with the exception of Sydney, where the situation is reversed. In the Sydney CBD hotels hold 81.1% of machines.
Number One performer Fairfield sees hotels hold just 14% of the 3394 EGMs.
The Liquor Act 2007 provides for the Independent Liquor & Gaming Authority (ILGA) to balance the task of “an appropriate balance between permitting the sale and consumption of liquor and gaming and ensuring that sale and consumption are accompanied by responsibility and safety”.
Clyde Mooney, Publishing Editor
