It has absolutely nothing to do with keeping the pokies going, its simply about changing ownership. The pokies will still operate with a new owner but the financial benefits will just go to another corporation & not to the EFC. This is the issue - selling the licences achieves NOTHING but a shifting of guilt for some members. Firstly the venues that have the machines will need to be sold as well because they are almost certainly not viable without them so again all that changes is the venues have new owners. The number of machines doesnât change, the amount of players doesnât change, the profits they make doesnât change & the damage they may cause to individual gamblers & their families doesnât change in any way shape or form. Now some people obviously think Bruce Mathieson (potential buyer) making a few extra mil off gambling is ok but EFC using that profit to pay for community benefits like AFLW, community camps, kids clinics etc is somehow a worse outcome. Makes no sense to me.
I have no issue at all with people wanting & pushing for reforms in all gambling areas including the sports betting that the AFL use to help fund the league. I would support reductions or even banning all pokies. While they are legal however I canât see why its not better to at least see some community benefits from the profits as opposed to even more licences going to the huge corporations who already control the vast majority of venues.
"Carlton profited the most off gamblersâ losses â punters sunk more than $19 million into the clubâs 290 machines spread over four venues, $4.5 million more than in the previous financial year.
Gamblers lost $14.7 million across the Bombersâ venues in Melton, amounting to a $77,500 loss per machine (Essendon own 190 machines). Comparatively, those who gambled at Carltonâs venues lost about $66,000 per machine.
Before this year, the two Essendon-operated venuesâ total gambling losses had been steadily decreasing since hitting a peak of $15.1 million in losses in 2008, which reflected a trend across the state."
Just guessing, but looking at these numbers we are heavily dependent on these machines which is sad tbh. Lets hope we see a meaningful exit strategy and implementation.
The gambling fools would just go elsewhere or find alternative ways to lose their money if Essendon rid itself of its pokies.
Better if Essendon kept and/or even grow poker machine numbers. Fools and their money are easily parted, so Essendon should fleece as many gamblers as it can.
They wouldnât even have to go elsewhere, the venues would have to be sold with the licences because they wouldnât be viable without them so all that would change is the little licensee name written above the doors when you enter. They may also remove any EFC references from the decor buts thats it. I donât know if many or any problem gamblers go out of their way to lose money at those venues because of the club connection but its also just as likely that more problems gamblers would frequent the venue if the EFC connection was removed. Iâd suggest most people would simply chose convenient venues & would be oblivious to any ownership changes.
A pointless fact I learned recently is that one of Stephen Dankâs co-authors of this 1996 paper is the same Scott Olive who is credited with revolutionising pokies, by inventing many of the highly addictive features of the video based machines.
Among those inventions was the linked jackpot game Lightning Link, which made billions for Aristocrat (and millions for himself) and at one stage was on 60% of EGMs in Australia as well as being the most played game in North America.
I was sitting next to a bloke at Crown pre-COVID one day who won the Grand Jackpot on a Lightning pokie machine, $128000 and some change. Excited me, but he was calm as, and he me that he was a Professional pokie player, which I thought was BS, as pokies are not a game of skill, supposedly all random. Someone else I know confirmed that there are professional players who can make lots of money.
They told me Professional players focus on maximising their chances through bonuses, promotions, and progressive jackpots rather than relying on skill to beat the game, as pokies are a game of chance, with the odds heavily stacked to the House. These people apply a disciplined approach to manage their bankrolls, selecting machines based on payout percentages, jackpot sizes, and play strategy that includes setting loss limits and knowing when to cash out. Their professionalism is more about financial and risk management than manipulating the odds, which remain fixed by the machineâs programming and the casinoâs configuration. I have never had big wins or big losses, as I also set limits and walk away without issues. Crown have made it easier to do with the systems now setup, though I expect that those problem gamblers will always find a way to lose more money.
My old high school economics teacher became a professional pokies player. He was actually a brilliant man & was a successful stock broker before suffering a breakdown that led him to teaching. He was sitting at a bar one day where he could see some machines & it sparked his interest & thats when he devised his own formula for maximising returns on jackpots. Basically he has players who work for him & he monitors the jackpots that have to be won by a certain number. When it gets to a point where its economically viable he brings in multiple players on multiple machines playing maximum credits. It increases his odds of winning massively. He might for example have 10 players putting $1000 each into the machines but heâs better than 50% chance to win 50K. He has the math worked out more precise but last I saw him he was living at the Crown towers hotel, driving a very expensive car & outwardly looked to be doing very well. At one point the Casino tried to ban him but he somehow got that overturned.
I have heard stories a few years back of organised gangs doing similar things at suburban venues but they intimidate & force regular players off the machines. I have a friend who manages an RSL & she told me the newer jackpots donât have triggers so they can max out & still not pay.
Thatâs fine to say you donât want to rely on rich men, but by extension youâre suggesting itâs better we rely on stripping wealth out of poor people living in Melton as a preferred revenue solution?
I would suggest itâs an Essendon Football Club discussion. We own pokies, we have members that are for it, and members against it. Seems fit to have a topic.
With the position the club is going to be in over the next few years, it doesnât seem like the perfect time to be eliminating important revenue streams. Be careful what you wish for.
Thatâs my view. Adults are responsible for their own decisions. We can save everyone from themselves and I think these venues employ people and help out food on the tables of families.
I personally donât have a problem with Essendon having pokies, certainly at least until they demonstrate they have at least equivalent in new non football revenue to replace it which would be the perfect outcome.
It seems like the first step is for the club to acknowledge that itâs not a great source of revenue. They should put a plan in place to ultimately replace the revenue.
â A group of Essendon Supporters are confident they can turn the Club into northâ
Just stay in your lane people. Unbelievable What a small membership fee makes people believe theyâre entitled to Demand from the Club.
Half of the people with their pom-poms out for this probably are not even paid up members. Just a bunch of Tim Costellos.
