By FairfaxMedia
AFL club Essendon is vowing to become less reliant on pokies, despite the state government announcing new 20-year licences.
The Bombers have made more than
$23 million from poker machines in the past two years, behind only Hawthorn and Carlton.
Those three clubs, as well as Richmond and St Kilda, have been handed new licences to operate poker machines until 2042.
But Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said the club was committed to reducing the amount of money they make from gaming.
“We have spoken to this publicly on a number of occasions – we endeavour to become less reliant on gaming as a revenue stream and we have invested heavily in building our strategy and investment divisions to work toward exploring opportunities,” Mr Campbell said.
“That said, our venues employ more than 120 full and part-time staff in the communities where they operate, and we directly contribute investment into these communities to fund a range of sport and community activities.”
Collingwood, Geelong, Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs will sell their poker machines, while North Melbourne has been industry leaders in abandoning potential revenue from the machines.
Essendon has 89 poker machines at the Melton Country Club and 101 at Windy Hill. The club was expected to have its Melton venue’s lease extended by the council on November 12.
While the Bombers have made significant money from gaming revenue, they are also the only Victorian club in significant debt.
That debt – which rival clubs will argue was largely of their own making, following the supplements saga – was more than $11 million in 2016. At the end of this year, it will be just over $4 million.
“As a club we have been able to diversify our revenue streams more broadly and that has meant we have become less reliant on gaming,” Mr Campbell said.
“We are challenging ourselves and discussions are under way with Moonee Valley city council around maximising the Windy Hill precinct, including how we activate various assets that the club has under its control.”
– The Age
