Victorian Football Clubs Face Pressure to Cut Ties with Pokies as Losses Soar

Poker machine venues connected to Victorian football clubs and leagues have cost players over $110 million in the last financial year. This has sparked new debates about how much the sport depends on gambling money and how it affects nearby communities.

Football Clubs’ Pokies Earnings Reach $110 Million as Advocates Call for Reform

Data from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission reveals that clubs from the top-tier AFL to local levels still make money from pokies. Together, their venues led to $110.4 million in player losses during 2024–2025, about $300,000 each day on average, reported Australian news outlet ABC.

People pushing to change gambling rules say football clubs cannot be pillars of the community while also making money from harmful betting. Tim Costello, who leads the Alliance for Gambling Reform, believes teams that talk about family values but profit from poker machines might lose people’s trust. He points out that more and more proof shows gambling losses lead to financial troubles, broken families, and illegal acts.

Four AFL teams are among the top money-makers: Carlton, Essendon, Richmond, and St Kilda. Their eight venues together caused $40.4 million in player losses. Carlton’s four locations alone brought in almost half of that amount. At the same time, Victorian Football League clubs like Werribee, Williamstown, and Port Melbourne saw total losses of over $35 million. Werribee’s two venues were behind most of these losses.

Pokies Revenue at Small Clubs Sparks Debate Over Sport’s Social Responsibility

At the local level, small clubs and regional leagues also rake in big money from pokies. Nine local clubs and groups together made $34.6 million last year. The Vermont Football Club topped the list, with players losing $11.6 million there. Venues linked to clubs in Northcote, Warrnambool, and Hamilton came next.

Bree Hughes, who survived gambling harm and now speaks out against it, finds this setup very worrying. After pokies addiction took years of her life and landed her in jail, she now pushes for change. Hughes believes it is wrong and goes against what sports stand for when football clubs profit from machines that ruin lives.

Gambling losses in Victoria have hit new highs, topping $3.1 billion in 2024–2025, with many areas seeing their worst numbers ever. Some AFL clubs like North Melbourne and Hawthorn have already sold off their poker machines, but others have been slow to make changes, saying they depend on the money.

Costello and other people pushing for change say clubs need to find new ways to make money that do not involve gambling. Until this happens, critics say football’s role as something that brings people together will be overshadowed by its links to an industry that causes serious harm to society.