Pokies in Australia statistics: losses, machines and returns by state

Australian pokies at a glance

Australians lost $17.44 billion on pokies in clubs and hotels in 2024-25. That is the headline figure in the Queensland Government Statistician's Australian Gambling Statistics, 41st edition, released on 11 August 2026 and compiled with every state and territory government. Here are the numbers that matter, each with its period and source.

"Losses" here is what the statistics call expenditure: the amount bet minus the amount won. Gaming machines in casinos are not in these rows; the national tables count them under casino gambling.

Pokie losses by state, 2024-25

NSW loses more on pokies than the rest of the country combined. These are club and hotel gaming machines only. The rules behind these numbers differ by state: see NSW gambling laws, Victoria gambling laws and Queensland gambling laws.

Source: QGSO, Australian Gambling Statistics 41st edition, product tables GAMING_MACHINES 5, 7, 9, 10 and 11. Western Australia has no club and hotel pokies network. Per adult figures use the mean estimated resident population aged 18 and over.

How losses have changed since 1999-00

National pokie losses have more than doubled in dollar terms since 1999-00. After inflation the rise is smaller, about 13%, and the 2019-20 and 2020-21 dips line up with the COVID-19 venue closures.

Source: QGSO product tables GAMING_MACHINES 5, 6 and 9. Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, losses rose 7.06% nationally, 9.88% in Queensland, 7.52% in NSW and 3.80% in Victoria.

Pokie machines per capita

Machine counts come from each state's regulator, so the dates differ. The per-adult rates in the last column are our calculations unless marked, using the QGSO adult population for 2024-25.

NSW's own reports put club machines at 813.2 and hotel machines at 279.3 per 100,000 residents, using the 2021 Census population. NSW also caps the number of gaming machine entitlements statewide: the Gaming Machines Regulation 2019 sets that cap at 95,739.

The latest 12 months

State data runs ahead of the national tables. These are the most recent full years we could add up from each regulator's own releases.

On these figures a NSW club machine took about $82,000 over its 12 months and a NSW hotel machine about $190,000. A Victorian machine averaged about $127,000 in 2025-26. Victoria's regulator also reports that Victorians lost $1,014.65 million at the Melbourne casino (pokies and table games) in 2025-26, on top of the club and hotel figure.

Where losses are highest

Losses are concentrated in particular council areas.

Per person, Brimbank had the highest losses in Victoria in 2024-25 at $1,091.10 per adult, followed by Greater Dandenong at $1,071.50. The highest club machine density in NSW was in Murray River, with 7,260.7 machines per 100,000 residents in May 2026.

Who plays the pokies

Most adults do not play pokies in a given month, and the people who play regularly carry most of the risk.

• In a typical month in 2022, 7.3% of men and 5.1% of women used poker machines, and their average self-reported monthly spend was $241.09, almost double the 2015 figure (AIHW, citing the HILDA Survey).
• In a July 2022 survey of 1,765 adults, 33% had played pokies in the past 12 months, and 67% of those were at some risk of gambling harm (AIFS). Our guide to gambling addiction covers the signs health services look for and the free help available.
• Among 1,016 adults who played pokies at least fortnightly in 2022, the median spend on pokies was $400 a month and 45.1% were at high risk (AIFS, convenience sample).

What these numbers mean for one player

Across club and hotel machines in every state that reports turnover, the machines kept $7.89 of every $100 bet in 2024-25. That average hides a wide spread: state law allows a machine to return as little as 85%, and a single session can lose everything or win big. The cost that adds up is turnover. Our pokies calculator turns your bet size and spin speed into an hourly figure, and how pokies work explains the RTP behind it.

If the numbers on this page feel close to home, free and confidential support is on our gambling help page, or call Gambling Help on 1800 858 858.

About this data

• Legal gambling only. The national tables cover legal, regulated gambling. Online pokies are banned under the Interactive Gambling Act, so offshore losses are not counted.
• Visitors included. Each state's figures include money lost there by interstate and overseas visitors.
• Turnover is not losses. Turnover counts every bet, including credits won and bet again. Losses (expenditure) are turnover minus winnings.
• Different years. NSW clubs report on a September to August year and hotels on July to June. Queensland and Victoria use July to June.
• Our calculations. Average return, per-machine and per-adult rates marked as ours are simple divisions of the official figures above. Tasmania reports pokie losses but not turnover, so we leave it out of the average return.

For the rest of our pokies maths, start at the pokies guide.

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