By Olivia Condous
Melton council will finally begin the process of joining the Alliance for Gambling Reform, after gambling losses topped pre-pandemic levels.
The latest data from the Victorian Commission for Gaming and Liquor Regulation showed that $6.8 million was lost on electronic gaming machines located in Melton during June of this year.
The municipality had the twelfth highest amount of total EGM losses for 2021-22 of all Victorian municipalities, peaking at $7.25 million in monthly losses for March this year.
In a council meeting on August 15, councillor Moira Deeming put forward a notice of motion for council officers to prepare a report into Melton council becoming a member of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, which already receives support from 22 other Victorian councils.
The motion was carried unanimously by all councillors.
Cr Deeming said she was “disturbed” to discover how high gambling losses had risen.
“We have been cited as one of the worst municipalities in terms of losses to gambling, which I was very sad to see,” she said.
Cr Sophie Ramsey the loss figures were “astounding”.
“It creates a void for our community but it also cuts our residents off at the knees,” she said.
“We need some more rigor around the number of machines in our LGA… things need to change.”
