Port Adelaide’s mayor says the balance has tipped the wrong way on poker machines in the Port, where there are more machines than in any other council area in the state.
InDaily’s interactive poker machine map reveals a cluster of machines around Port Adelaide’s main district.
Six venues with 85 pokies between them are clustered in the small area between St Vincent St and the Port River.
In all there are 1247 poker machines in the Port Adelaide Enfield council area, the highest number of any local government area in the state.
Statistics also reveal the council has one of the highest average gambling spends per adult in South Australia.
Pokies are everywhere: but why?
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Port Adelaide Mayor Gary Johanson told InDaily there were too many machines in his council district.
“I think the balance has tilted the wrong way,” he said. “Adults have the right to make their own decision, but I think the investment in a splurge on the poker machine must never be taken at the expense of food on your own table or indeed in front of your family.
“A lot of times its elderly people that don’t have company, their loved ones have died, they don’t have relatives; it’s actually a major part of their social life to have a little flutter on a poker machine.
“I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. What I have a problem with is people whose children may not be getting a decent feed.
“I don’t think there would be a person alive who would say poker machines do good for the community. How could you justify that argument?”
How to use the interactive poker machine map
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- The map behaves like a Google map. You can use your mouse to move around the screen. Use your mousewheel or the buttons on the map to zoom in on a particular location or zoom out to view the whole state.
- Click on the pins to get more information about each venue and the number of poker machine licences they hold.
- Click on the suburbs to get more information about their disadvantage score. Over 1000 means more advantaged than average; under 1000 means more disadvantaged than average.
Port Adelaide Enfield is one of Adelaide’s more socio-economically disadvantaged council regions, according to Federal Government statistics.
The local suburbs of Wingfield, Ottoway and Taperoo are amongst the most disadvantaged in the nation. Pockets of high wealth exist along West Lakes Shore.
On average each adult in Port Adelaide spends around $844 a year on gambling, behind only residents in the council areas of Adelaide – where Casino takings distort statistics – and Norwood Payneham St Peters.
However per machine, the average is around $63,000 a year in revenue, one of the lowest levels amongst councils in the metropolitan area.
Mayor Johanson said poker machines often clustered in areas of disadvantage, like Port Adelaide.
Australian Hotels Association SA head Ian Horne disputed that claim, saying high numbers of poker machines tended to end up in places where there were lots of pubs.
Port Adelaide was one of Adelaide’s historic population and economic centres so it had a lot of venues, he said.
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