Wyndham Council is gearing up for battle over a Tarneit venue’s bid for an extra 12 pokies.
The city is expected to oppose the application by Hotel 520 on Sayers, which already has over 60 Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs).
A recommendation before council proposes it engage legal representation for an upcoming hearing at the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission listed for November 9-10 to fight the increase.
Council cites concerns about the harms associated with gambling and its negligible economic benefit to the community and employment generation among is its reasons for opposing the increase.
“The prevalence of harm (10.6%) and extra severe harm (2.1%) among gamblers in the Western Metro Region is high when compared with Victoria (9.5% and 1.8% respectively),” a council report states.
“There are currently thirteen gaming venues (seven hotels and seven clubs) and 897 attached EGM entitlements in the City of Wyndham.
“There are also several gaming venues adjoining municipal boundaries with Brimbank to the north and Brimbank and Hobsons Bay to the east.”
The council report further notes that the total spend on pokies in the City of Wyndham venues over the 2022-23 financial year was $124,903,632.
Of that expenditure $13,433,101 was at Hotel 520 on Sayers, making it the third highest pokies spend centre among hotels in the Local Government Area (LGA).
