TWiSK can reveal that a council-funded promotion in the hospitality magazine Broadsheet has promoted a pokies venue that benefited from $2.1 million in punter losses in just one year.
Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission data updated last week reveals that patrons lost almost $30 million at poker machine venues in Port Phillip in the last 12 months.
Included in these losses is $2.1 million lost at the Bleakhouse Hotel in Albert Park—a venue that was highlighted in a recent Broadsheet promotion funded by Port Phillip Council.
In a 23 January promotional editorial entitled “From Elwood to Port Melbourne: How To Spend a Day Along Port Phillip Bay”, the aptly named Bleakhouse Hotel is the only pub venue mentioned.
The Bleakhouse is one of ten local venues that extract millions from pokies players each year. In the most recent updated gambling losses, over $2 million was lost by pokies players at the Bleakhouse alone.
This prompted further investigation of the local pokies losses in Port Phillip — information that is freely available from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission.
It’s sobering reading to see the local losses (in order of gamblers’ losses in $millions).
| Pokies Venue | Players’ losses $M in one year |
| Balaclava Hotel | 5.5 |
| The Rex | 4.6 |
| Bells | 3.6 |
| Village Belle Hotel | 3.2 |
| St Kilda Army and Navy Club | 3.1 |
| The Bay and Bridge | 2.8 |
| Bleakhouse Hotel | 2.1 |
| Dick Whittington Hotel | 1.8 |
| Elsternwick Hotel | 1.7 |
| Grosvenor Hotel | 0.6 |
| TOTAL gamblers’ losses | 29.4 |
Source: https://www.vgccc.vic.gov.au/expenditure-by-venue-report
