Pokie use is rising in Australia: here’s how much North Shore suburbs are losing

New research from the Australian Gambling Research Centre (AGRC) has revealed gambling participation and harm is on the rise across the country. 

According to the study, conducted in 2024, an estimated 3.1 million Australian adults — approximately 15 percent of the population — have experienced harms such as feeling guilty and stressed about their gambling, borrowing money or selling things to fund gambling, or going back another day to try to win back lost money.

The problem is even more acute in New South Wales — home to 87,930 pokie machines — where 63.9% of adults have gambled in the last year. While not the most affected areas in Greater Sydney, the North Shore is far from exempt from this issue. 

In the Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby LGAs, 11.3 million dollars were put into pokie machines this year between the months of March and May. Meanwhile, in the Hornsby LGA, that same period saw gambling machines eat up more than 12 million dollars. 

Gambling in Australia is not an isolated issue, but one that data from the AGRC shows is connected to rates of both suicidal thoughts and intimate-partner violence. 

AGRC Research Fellow Dr Gabriel Tillman said the rise in gambling harm despite current harm-reduction measures should concern Australians.

Australian Institute of Family Studies director, Liz Neville, said the pervasive nature of gambling requires a more robust approach to helping families and communities, as well as individuals.  

Image: Erik Mclean via Unsplash