$9.3 billion lost to pokies in 2025 proof that Minns doesn’t give a stuff
Quarterly NSW gaming data released yesterday showing a staggering $9.3 billion was lost to pokies in 2025, the highest ever and 8% more than last year, is a scathing indictment on the Minns Labor Government’s efforts to tackle pokies harm and proof they don’t give a stuff, says Greens MP and gambling harm minimisation spokesperson Cate Faehrmann.
“These extraordinary losses prove that the Minns Government doesn’t give a stuff. They’ve thrown the people of NSW to the gambling industry wolves and are rubbing their hands in glee,” said Ms Faehrmann.
“$9.3 billion lost in a single year is not just a statistic, it’s a full-blown social and economic crisis unfolding in plain sight.
“We’re now seeing average daily pokies’ losses of well over $25 million, with a staggering $1.1 million lost every hour. That’s money ripped out of family budgets and local economies.
“The harm is being concentrated in the same communities over and over again, Western Sydney and regional areas already under huge financial pressure.
“In just three months Canterbury-Bankstown lost over $200 million, and communities like Fairfield, Cumberland and Blacktown didn’t fare much better. This is targeted, systemic harm.
“There are still nearly 88,000 poker machines operating across NSW. The scale of this addiction economy is staggering and it’s being allowed to grow.
“The Independent Panel on Gaming Reform handed its report to the Minns Government in November 2024. Since then all we’ve had is delay and capitulation to the gambling industry at every turn.
“It’s a disgrace that the Government continues to ignore the calls by experts, including the Independent Panel, for mandatory cashless gambling to be rolled out across the state,” said Ms Faehrmann.