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Gaming Minister Shane Rattenbury is confident grants to community clubs to help them diversify will lead to a reduction in poker machines, despite the funding not requiring clubs to cut pokie numbers. The ACT government has allocated more than $630,000 across seven clubs to fund projects which it says will help the organisations become less reliant on poker-machine revenue. Projects include the development of an early learning centre at a club site and a new shed for golf carts. It comes after the head of one of the territory’s largest club groups said it would be a “long, long time” before the club could ditch all its pokies. Southern Cross Club chief executive Ian Mackay said it was possible for clubs to achieve good things without just relying on money from gamblers. “We’ve gone from 50-odd per cent down to 30-something per cent [of total revenue from poker machines]. We’re on that path. How quickly we can reach [no poker machines] and not put at risk 600 jobs and also the community we support is probably the challenge,” Mr Mackay said. The Southern Cross Club will receive more than $100,000 from the fund to install solar panels and lights, and an electric vehicle charging station at its Yarralumla venue. Mr Rattenbury said there was an opportunity for more Canberra clubs to become poker-machine free with ongoing support from the ACT government. “We want the clubs to continue to be part of our landscape. It just can’t be on the basis it has been for the last couple of decades, which is driven by a phenomenal growth in poker machine revenue,” Mr Rattenbury said. Recipients of the grants from the ACT government’s diversification and sustainability support fund are not required to make a direct commitment to reduce the number of poker machine licences they hold. The Belconnen Bowling Club will receive $155,000, the largest grant, to refit and reopen its kitchen, which has been long closed after health authorities found it did not meet commercial standards. Club secretary Derek Byars said the improved facilities, which could be completed by the end of the year, would attract people to the club for longer periods and bolster its revenue base. Mr Byars said the club had cut back on the number of poker machines it operated and most members accepted the fact the club needed to diversify. He said the club had worked to attract social groups by running pool and darts competitions, staging live music and hosting bridge and Mahjong clubs. “There are factions within the club, as there are in every club. One faction would like to get rid of the poker machines all together; another group would like to expand the number of machines,” Mr Byars said. Mr Byars said the club cut its number of operational poker machines from 13 to eight, but retained two unused licences in case the club needed the revenue. “Fortunately we haven’t had to need them at this stage. Hopefully with the kitchen, we’ll never have to need them,” he said READ MORE: The grants include money for the Belconnen Soccer Club to develop an early learning centre on its McKellar site. The Murrumbidgee Country Club will receive $25,000 to build a golf cart shed, while the Canberra Irish Club will receive close to $100,00 to install a solar grid connect system. Eastlake Football Club will receive $52,200 to develop a diversification strategy, while the Hellenic Club of Canberra will receive $100,000 to help fund an analysis of redevelopment options for the club’s Woden site. Clubs with poker machines pay into the fund and the amount is matched by the ACT government. Grants cannot fund any projects related to gambling. More than $3 million from the fund was paid out to clubs as COVID emergency relief funding, after the government dipped into the pool to keep club staff employed. Clubs posted multimillion-dollar losses last year after COVID restrictions forced the venues to shut their doors for an extended period. Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
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Gaming Minister Shane Rattenbury is confident grants to community clubs to help them diversify will lead to a reduction in poker machines, despite the funding not requiring clubs to cut pokie numbers.
The ACT government has allocated more than $630,000 across seven clubs to fund projects which it says will help the organisations become less reliant on poker-machine revenue.
Projects include the development of an early learning centre at a club site and a new shed for golf carts.
It comes after the head of one of the territory’s largest club groups said it would be a “long, long time” before the club could ditch all its pokies.
Southern Cross Club chief executive Ian Mackay said it was possible for clubs to achieve good things without just relying on money from gamblers.
“We’ve gone from 50-odd per cent down to 30-something per cent [of total revenue from poker machines]. We’re on that path. How quickly we can reach [no poker machines] and not put at risk 600 jobs and also the community we support is probably the challenge,” Mr Mackay said.
The Southern Cross Club will receive more than $100,000 from the fund to install solar panels and lights, and an electric vehicle charging station at its Yarralumla venue.
ACT Gaming Minister Shane Rattenbury. Picture: Richard Thompson
Mr Rattenbury said there was an opportunity for more Canberra clubs to become poker-machine free with ongoing support from the ACT government.
“We want the clubs to continue to be part of our landscape. It just can’t be on the basis it has been for the last couple of decades, which is driven by a phenomenal growth in poker machine revenue,” Mr Rattenbury said.
Recipients of the grants from the ACT government’s diversification and sustainability support fund are not required to make a direct commitment to reduce the number of poker machine licences they hold.
The Belconnen Bowling Club will receive $155,000, the largest grant, to refit and reopen its kitchen, which has been long closed after health authorities found it did not meet commercial standards.
Club secretary Derek Byars said the improved facilities, which could be completed by the end of the year, would attract people to the club for longer periods and bolster its revenue base.
Mr Byars said the club had cut back on the number of poker machines it operated and most members accepted the fact the club needed to diversify.
He said the club had worked to attract social groups by running pool and darts competitions, staging live music and hosting bridge and Mahjong clubs.
“There are factions within the club, as there are in every club. One faction would like to get rid of the poker machines all together; another group would like to expand the number of machines,” Mr Byars said.
Mr Byars said the club cut its number of operational poker machines from 13 to eight, but retained two unused licences in case the club needed the revenue.
“Fortunately we haven’t had to need them at this stage. Hopefully with the kitchen, we’ll never have to need them,” he said
The grants include money for the Belconnen Soccer Club to develop an early learning centre on its McKellar site.
The Murrumbidgee Country Club will receive $25,000 to build a golf cart shed, while the Canberra Irish Club will receive close to $100,00 to install a solar grid connect system.
Eastlake Football Club will receive $52,200 to develop a diversification strategy, while the Hellenic Club of Canberra will receive $100,000 to help fund an analysis of redevelopment options for the club’s Woden site.
Clubs with poker machines pay into the fund and the amount is matched by the ACT government. Grants cannot fund any projects related to gambling.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
