AFL clubs reject offer to help reduce reliance on po-ker machine cash (H-Sun)

[one-eyed]

AFL clubs reject offer to help reduce reliance on po-ker machine cash

    Eliza Sewell and Grant Baker
    From: Herald Sun
    December 19, 2013 7:00PM

AFL clubs have ignored an offer to help them get out of po-ker machines.

Victorian clubs instead are increasing their reliance on pokies cash.

It is now 19 months since AFL boss Andrew Demetriou said clubs had shown an interest in selling machines.

The league was "prepared to open the batting on being the intermediary for them", Demetriou said.

But the Western Bulldogs are seeking to add 18 machines at their Dromana venue - almost double the current number.

Carlton, Collingwood and Richmond have added more machines to clubs in Bulleen, Ringwood, Caroline Springs and Wantirna since Demetriou's statement.

Gambling-related revenue from the Victorian AFL clubs' 1466 machines tops $100 million a year.

In a witness statement linked to the club's application for new machines, the Bulldogs highlighted the gap in football department spending between the AFL's rich clubs and themselves.

The statement refers to 2010 football department spending of $19.1 million by Collingwood and $18.6 million by Essendon, compared with $14.5 million at Whitten Oval.

The Bulldogs have 45 active machines at two venues with 70 more ready to be deployed at the club's Edgewater development, which it expects to complete in time for the 2015 season.

As part of the Bulldogs' application to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation to increase the number of machines from 20 to 38 at The Peninsula Club, the Dogs' chief financial officer Anthony Tattersall said "our members demand that we must maintain our competitive focus in respect to our football operations".

Tattersall conceded the club had "continuing cash flow pressures from a significant level of trade creditors".

He said the club had a long-term commitment to "truly being the community club of the AFL" and the venue in Dromana "stays true to this objective".

A separate witness statement from Bulldogs chief operating officer Robert Stubbs said the club intended to reinvest money from the new machines into developing the venue.

"This application for an additional 18 EGMs (electronic gaming machines) is designed to provide the opportunity to further reinvest back into the community through expanded food and beverage offering and increase and improve the Peninsula Club's community outcomes within the region," he said.

In February, the Bulldogs made an equalisation submission to the AFL suggesting po-ker machine revenue above a certain amount should be pooled and shared between clubs.

The Dogs said such a scheme "might have the additional benefit of reducing the incentive of clubs to increase their own dependence and their fans' exposure to po-ker machine use".

Collingwood added six machines to its Caroline Springs club last month, but an application for eight new pokies at the Coach and Horses Hotel in Ringwood was knocked back earlier this year. The club added 20 new machines to the venue last year.

As part of the failed bid, Collingwood said it would make a $125,000 contribution to a community centre at Victoria Park.

Maroondah council rejected the Pies' claim of benefit, noting the money would be drawn from Ringwood to improve a centre in Collingwood.

Monash University gambling expert Dr Charles Livingstone said clubs were engaging in "predatory behaviour" by placing machines in venues that had no geographic relevance to the football club.

"Collingwood and Carlton and Hawthorn have all done that in the outer suburbs and that strikes me as being really quite predatory," Livingstone said.

"The way they see it is this is an easy way for them to get an extra million or two bucks a year."

HITTING THE POKIES JACKPOT

AFL club po-ker machines in Victoria: 1466

Gaming-related revenue: $104 million a year

CARLTON

Gaming-related revenue (GRR): $19.7m

Machines: 290

Manningham Club, Bulleen (90 machines)

Royal Oak, Richmond (80)

Club Laverton, Laverton (60)

Vic Inn, Williamstown (60)


COLLINGWOOD

GRR: $22.1m

Machines: 186

Coach and Horses, Ringwood (80)

The Club, Caroline Springs (66)

Diamond Creek Tavern (40)


ESSENDON

GRR: $13.7m

Machines:: 190

Essenson Football and Community Club, Essendon (100)

Melton Country Club, Melton (90)


GEELONG

GRR: $13.7m

Machines:: 180

Geelong Football Club, Geelong (100)

The Brook on Sneydes, Point Cook (80)


HAWTHORN

GRR: $18.5m

Machines: 155

Vegas at Waverley Gardens, Mulgrave (75)

West Waters Hotel, Caroline Springs (80)


MELBOURNE

GRR: $6.9m*

Machines:: 180

Bentleigh Club, Bentleigh (80)

Leighoak, Oakleigh (90)

Unattached machines (8 )


NORTH MELBOURNE

No pokies


RICHMOND

GRR: $5.5m

Machines: 87

Wantirna Club, Wantirna (87)


ST KILDA

GRR: $750,000*

Machines: 83

St Kilda FC Social Club, Moorabbin (83)


WESTERN BULLDOGS

GRR: $4m

Machines: 115

Peninsula Club, Dromana (20)

Club Leeds, Footscray (25)

Unattached machines (70)

Note: Gaming related revenue derived from club financial reports for year ended October 31, 2013, except where indicated. Includes all revenue generated by social club activities.

* 2012 figure

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-clubs-reject-offer-to-help-reduce-reliance-on-po-ker-machine-cash/story-fnelctok-1226788374023

[one-eyed]

AFL clubs claim rent for pokies venues, new signage as “community benefits”

    Grant Baker and Eliza Sewell
    From: Herald Sun
    December 19, 2013 7:00PM

THE cost of running a pokies venue continues to be claimed as a community benefit by AFL clubs.

Pokie clubs operated by AFL teams must use a minimum of 8.3 per cent of their revenue to benefit the community to receive a tax break.

Monash University gambling expert Dr Charles Livingstone said the definition of "community benefit'' was too broad and some clubs claimed football-related expenses.

"How community purposes are defined is so loose that you could drive several thousand trucks through it," Livingstone said.

"It includes things like operating costs, wage bill, electricity, insurance.

"It's very, very easy for clubs (po-ker machine venues) to claim that 8.33 per cent without actually giving anything to a genuine community group.

"In the case of AFL clubs … it often includes the cost of running the social club and rebuilding bits and pieces."

The biggest "community benefit" across all clubs was the operating cost of venues, for example $870,000 for rent, wages and running costs at Collingwood's The Coach and Horses in Ringwood.

All four of Carlton's pokie venues claimed the cost of maintaining Visy Park, the Blues' home base, as a community benefit.

Of the nine Victorian clubs with pokies, the Western Bulldogs were the only club to spend any of its community benefit money on the prevention and treatment of problem gambling.

Collingwood nominated a gift that relates to "sausages given to Auskick for their fundraising activities" but also sponsored the Caroline Springs Football Club.

Essendon claimed $308,00 for maintenance of Windy Hill oval "for use by the community". The Bombers also claimed pay TV and discounted meals for members and visitors to its community club.

Geelong claimed costs relating to "football training", the installation of LED signage, construction of a corporate function room and interest and principal repayments on a refurbishment loan.

The Cats donated $20,000 to the Headspace youth mental health program.

Not-for-profit clubs pay 8.33 per cent less tax on pokies profits compared with pubs.

Dr Livingstone said clubs could take steps to help the community and minimise potential damage to punters.

"I think the best thing the AFL clubs could do would be, not necessarily to get out of pokies but to implement some reasonable harm minimisation measures such as $1 bets," he said.

"The impact on their revenue of using $1 bets would be modest - but it would be a magnificent demonstration of how easy it is to implement social reform and demonstrate that they were actually interested in the well-being of people."

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-clubs-claim-rent-for-pokies-venues-new-signage-as-community-benefits/story-fnelctok-1226788385217

[The Big Richo]

Disappointing to see the RFC boost the bottom line via human misery.

[Loui Tufga]

Disappointing to see the RFC boost the bottom line via human misery.

One man, one Jar........that is all

[yellowandback]

Disappointing to see the RFC boost the bottom line via human misery.

I was kind of hoping that this year was the beginning of that misery finally being over