A new study has shown that gamblers in New South Wales (NSW) are losing a reported $24 million a day to electronic gaming machines.
The report was carried out by Wesley Mission and aimed to break down the losses that gamblers were experiencing alongside the issues that individuals and families can face.
Families are experiencing as much as $3,200 per person annually, with the total amount staked in the first 90 days of 2025 coming in at $2.17 billion.
Wesley Mission urges gambling regulation in NSW
Estimated losses per person in each particular government area show that Fairfield comes in at $3,255, Burwood-Strathfield has losses at $2,511, and Cumberland, the lowest, with $2,180 per person.
Wesley Mission’s CEO, Reverend Stu Cameron, says it is “morally indefensible” that some gaming operators can influence the government’s stance on regulatory policy.
The New South Wales Audit Office will be performing a Performance Audit 2025 that will be discussed in the state parliament on June 12.
“The government is still bending to the will of powerful clubs and hotel groups while everyday people and families are being financially and emotionally crushed. This is the epitome of policy paralysis,” said Rev Cameron.
87,789 electronic gaming machines are believed to be in operation across the state of New South Wales. Other states are registering similar losses in the first 90 days of operation in 2025. The Central Coast reported losses to electronic gambling gaming at $83.9 million, and the state of Newcastle lost $47.5 million.
The Australian charity has challenged the government of New South Wales and is looking for mandatory poker machine shutdowns from midnight to 10 am, a cashless gambling card with enforceable harm reduction limits, and tighter caps on machine numbers in high-risk communities.
“These are not radical ideas — they are basic public health protections,” said Rev Cameron as part of a wider news release on the losses.
He concluded that “If people were being harmed this severely by alcohol, drugs, or unsafe roads, the government would act. Gambling should be no different. Instead, the government does little while the industry rakes in billions.
Image: Pixlr AI-generated.
