The Federal Government’s stimulus package was always going to be a gamble, but was not expected to be taken so literally, with many Victorians gambling their cash handouts away.
Victoria has seen a $30 million increase in spending on pokie machines in a month. In December last year, following the Government’s first stimulus package, pokie spending jumped from $220 million to $250 million.
Industry watchdog The Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation has warned that the latest round of stimulus payments could again be gambled away, doing nothing to stimulate the economy.
Victoria is set to receive $3 billion of the latest stimulus cash handouts, and according to The Age, the commission said, “’extra government payments can lead to customers or club members spending extra money gambling” and has advised gambling providers to “watch for sings of problem gambling among patrons.”
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