Pokies

[kalsaint]

Question here is why do we struggle to gain value from our pokies. It appears the club needs to develop predatory behaviour to gain most advantage from pokies.

See the article below. Demetriou may want to be involved but the other clubs are obviously not interested. Read why below.


AFL clubs reject offer to help reduce reliance on poker machine cash

Eliza Sewell and Grant Baker •
Herald Sun •
December 19, 2013 4:00PM


Poker machines provide more than $100 million a year to AFL club coffers.
Poker machines provide more than $100 million a year to AFL club coffers. Source: Supplied


AFL clubs have ignored an offer to help them get out of poker machines.

Victorian clubs instead are increasing their reliance on pokies cash.

It is now 19 months since AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said clubs had shown an interest in selling machines.

The league was "prepared to open the batting on being the intermediary for them", Demetriou said.

But the Western Bulldogs are seeking to add 18 machines at their Dromana venue - almost double the current number.

Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond have added more machines to clubs in Bulleen, Ringwood, Caroline Springs and Wantirna since Demetriou's statement.

Gambling-related revenue from the Victorian AFL clubs' 1466 machines tops $100 million a year.

POKIES ALL TAKE, LITTLE GIVE

In a witness statement linked to the club's application for new machines, the Bulldogs highlighted the gap in football department spending between the AFL's rich clubs and themselves.

The statement refers to 2010 football department spending of $19.1 million by Collingwood and $18.6 million by Essendon, compared with $14.5 million at Whitten Oval.

The Bulldogs have 45 active machines at two venues with 70 more ready to be deployed at the club's Edgewater development, which it expects to complete in time for the 2015 season.

As part of the Bulldogs' application to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation to increase the number of machines from 20 to 38 at The Peninsula Club, the Dogs' chief financial officer Anthony Tattersall said "our members demand that we must maintain our competitive focus in respect to our football operations".

Tattersall conceded the club had "continuing cash flow pressures from a significant level of trade creditors".

He said the club had a long-term commitment to "truly being the community club of the AFL" and the venue in Dromana "stays true to this objective".

A separate witness statement from Bulldogs chief operating officer Robert Stubbs said the club intended to reinvest money from the new machines into developing the venue.

"This application for an additional 18 EGMs (electronic gaming machines) is designed to provide the opportunity to further reinvest back into the community through expanded food and beverage offering and increase and improve the Peninsula Club's community outcomes within the region," he said.

In February, the Bulldogs made an equalisation submission to the AFL suggesting poker machine revenue above a certain amount should be pooled and shared between clubs.

The Dogs said such a scheme "might have the additional benefit of reducing the incentive of clubs to increase their own dependence and their fans' exposure to poker machine use".

Collingwood added six machines to its Caroline Springs club last month, but an application for eight new pokies at the Coach and Horses Hotel in Ringwood was knocked back earlier this year. The club added 20 new machines to the venue last year.

As part of the failed bid, Collingwood said it would make a $125,000 contribution to a community centre at Victoria Park.
Maroondah council rejected the Pies' claim of benefit, noting the money would be drawn from Ringwood to improve a centre in Collingwood.

Monash University gambling expert Dr Charles Livingstone said clubs were engaging in "predatory behaviour" by placing machines in venues that had no geographic relevance to the football club.

"Collingwood and Carlton and Hawthorn have all done that in the outer suburbs and that strikes me as being really quite predatory," Livingstone said.

"The way they see it is this is an easy way for them to get an extra million or two bucks a year."

HITTING THE POKIES JACKPOT

AFL club poker machines in Victoria: 1466

Gaming-related revenue: $104 million a year

CARLTON

Gaming-related revenue (GRR): $19.7m

Machines: 290

Manningham Club, Bulleen (90 machines)

Royal Oak, Richmond (80)

Club Laverton, Laverton (60)

Vic Inn, Williamstown (60)

COLLINGWOOD

GRR: $22.1m

Machines: 186

Coach and Horses, Ringwood (80)

The Club, Caroline Springs (66)

Diamond Creek Tavern (40)

ESSENDON

GRR: $13.7m

Machines:: 190

Essenson Football and Community Club, Essendon (100)

Melton Country Club, Melton (90)

GEELONG

GRR: $13.7m

Machines:: 180

Geelong Football Club, Geelong (100)

The Brook on Sneydes, Point Cook (80)

HAWTHORN

GRR: $18.5m

Machines: 155

Vegas at Waverley Gardens, Mulgrave (75)

West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs (80)

MELBOURNE

GRR: $6.9m*

Machines:: 180

Bentleigh Club, Bentleigh (80)

Leighoak, Oakleigh (90)

Unattached machines (8)

NORTH MELBOURNE

No pokies

RICHMOND

GRR: $5.5m

Machines: 87

Wantirna Club, Wantirna (87)

ST KILDA

GRR: $750,000*

Machines: 83

St Kilda FC Social Club, Moorabbin (83)

WESTERN BULLDOGS

GRR: $4m

Machines: 115

Peninsula Club, Dromana (20)

Club Leeds, Footscray (25)

Unattached machines (70)

Note: Gaming related revenue derived from club financial reports for year ended October 31, 2013, except where indicated. Includes all revenue generated by social club activities.

* 2012 figure

[jimmy_slats]

to be honest this just shows how important it will be to develop Moorabbin into a lot bigger social hub i mean we have only 5 or less than richmond and they get around 4 million a year more than we do... i went to Moorabbin just a week ago to buy some stuff from the shop and it is not a place i would go for any other reason than that at the moment. Lets hope the upgrade come a lot sooner than latter because by god it needs a face lift.

[saintbrat]

to be honest this just shows how important it will be to develop Moorabbin into a lot bigger social hub i mean we have only 5 or less than richmond and they get around 4 million a year more than we do... i went to Moorabbin just a week ago to buy some stuff from the shop and it is not a place i would go for any other reason than that at the moment. Lets hope the upgrade come a lot sooner than latter because by god it needs a face lift.

Local council vs St Kilda in 2000's was as much as anything about the Number of machine- we wanted a few more to help cover the loan needed to build-- they wouldn't allow

now pokies guidelines have changed since but I wouldn't think there would be much option to increase the number
and some supporters are much against them anyway.

[jimmy_slats]

its not about increasing the number of machines its about improving the facilities to make them more profitable I'm not for increasing poker machines but i am for making it a place where people can go for a feed and a beer and when the VFL team comes along i would like to see be like the some of the better grounds to go to for a VFL game not just slightly improving it so a game can be played.

[GrumpyOne]

its not about increasing the number of machines its about improving the facilities to make them more profitable I'm not for increasing poker machines but i am for making it a place where people can go for a feed and a beer and when the VFL team comes along i would like to see be like the some of the better grounds to go to for a VFL game not just slightly improving it so a game can be played.

Agree with you Jimmy. Moorabbin is a wasted resource at present.

I don't think we should be putting all our eggs in the Pokie basket though. My observation is that attendances have reduced at pokie venues over the last couple of years.