New analysis has found poker machines are more densely concentrated in areas with larger Indigenous populations, intensifying concerns about gambling harm and community wellbeing.
Research released this week indicates that local government areas (LGAs) where at least one in ten residents identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander host about 50 per cent more poker machines than other areas. In those LGAs there is roughly one machine for every 99 people, compared with one for every 148 elsewhere. The Australia Institute’s findings have prompted renewed calls for national reform.
The findings land as separate national data show gambling harm is disproportionately borne by First Nations peoples. The National Gambling Prevalence Study Pilot 2024 reported 27.1 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults at risk of gambling harm, nearly double the 14.6 per cent recorded among non‑Indigenous adults. The study, led by the Australian Gambling Research Centre, is intended to underpin an ongoing national series.
High‑profile cases have also drawn attention to machine density in remote centres. In Alice Springs, estimates cited by industry and media sources put the ratio at about one machine per 50 residents, far above national averages and part of a multi‑year expansion of machines in the town’s hotels and casino. Debate has followed bids by large operators to add more machines in recent years.
Policy advocates say the pattern reflects how pokies are licensed and distributed. The Grattan Institute argues machines are most prevalent in disadvantaged suburbs and calls for a suite of measures including mandatory loss limits and a comprehensive ban on gambling advertising. Grattan notes Australians lose about $24–26 billion a year gambling, with pokies accounting for about half of those losses.
At the federal level, the House of Representatives inquiry You win some, you lose more recommended a phased, comprehensive ban on online gambling advertising across all media within three years.. Medical and public health groups, including the Australian Medical Association, have since urged the government to implement the package in full.
Advocates for reform argue that communities with higher Indigenous populations are being left with the social costs of machine losses (including financial strain, family stress, and pressure on local health and counselling services) while benefits accrue to venue owners and state treasuries. Industry groups have often countered that machines are regulated and that venues provide jobs and community contributions; however, experts say those benefits need to be weighed against the concentration of losses in vulnerable areas.
The policy debate continues at state and territory level. Western Australia remains an outlier, with poker machines banned outside the casino, a setting associated with lower per‑capita gambling losses. Campaigners cite WA as evidence that tougher controls can reduce harm.
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