“Over the course of just 31 days in March, Victorians lost over $$257.3 million to poker machines. That means that nearly $1b has been lost over just the past four months in our state alone.

“It’s staggering that the Victorian Labor Government continues to allow this predatory industry to operate with such reckless disregard for our wellbeing when it is causing so much harm to communities across the state.

“Many of the LGAs with the highest losses are also some of the most stressed communities. It’s clear that the industry’s business model is built upon exploiting the most vulnerable among us to inflate their profits.

“While it is good to see the government committing to harm reduction measures at Crown we now need them to extend them to the pubs and clubs across the state which have been turned into mini-casinos by industry bigwigs.

“It’s high time we tackled this crisis head-on with measures like universal pre-commitment, significantly reduced opening hours and abolishing losses disguised as wins.

“We also need well-resourced educational campaigns aimed at bringing awareness to this ongoing crisis. If we are to successfully reduce the harm being caused by poker machines we need to bring the community along with us.”