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www.wangarattachronicle.com.au
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
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GUIDE
BRAVING THE RAIN
Magpies rise from jaws of defeat Sport
CORONATION Kindergarten children (from left) Sonny Tiso (5), Harriet Bell (4), Arthur McLeod (4) and Zara Looby (4) were forced to rug up to brave wet conditions yesterday afternoon, as heavy rain set in throughout the Rural City of Wangaratta. Up to 20mm of rain is forecast to fall on Wangaratta today, while up to 40mm could buffet the region tomorrow as winter conditions settle in. PHOTO: Kurt Hickling
Pokies spend up LOCAL gaming venues can expect a visit from the state’s gambling regulator in the coming weeks, with Wangaratta having already shattered its record annual pokies expenditure in the first 10 months of the year. The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) recently confirmed inspectors would be touring the Wangaratta and Benalla shires to ensure gaming venues were following rules and maintaining integrity, fairness and safety with
Gaming g inspectors p to visit region g amid record ggambling g expenditure p BY RYAN MALCOLM rmalcolm@ nemedia.com.au
their electronic gaming machines (EGMs). The news comes after Wangaratta exceeded its record expenditure on EGMs for a single financial year in April, with two months of data still to be officially recorded. Local residents have
so far recorded a player loss of $9.269m, passing the rural city’s previous record of $8.873m (2018/19), according to VGCCC data. The figure is around $2.3m more than losses to the same time last year. Having never previously pooled seven figures in expenditure in a single month, the rural city’s four venues and 154 EGMs raked in more than $1m in July, August and October last year, and fell just shy of
the seven–figure mark in September, November and December. Expenditure has markedly reduced in the 2023 calendar year, with player losses hovering around the $800,000 mark each month on average. Benalla’s six venues and 240 EGMs have been similarly busy, pooling $12.3m in expenditure to April, more than $250,000 more than the 2021/22 financial year.
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VGCCC data for Benalla also includes Strathbogie and Moira shires. VGCCC gambling director Glorija Kuzman said the VGCCC targeted venues based on a number of risk factors, including high growth in player loss and a history of not following the rules. “Being led by data and intelligence, we’re sending our inspectors to places and venues where the risk to the community is highest,” she said.
“Places we’ve seen a significant jump in gambling spend over the past few years, where there is a high concentration of poker machines, or where we know there have been issues in the past. “These venues not only have legal obligations to comply with, they also have a social licence with their local community, which includes making sure gambling is safe and fair.” ■ Continued page 3
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