Illustrating the Human Impact of EGM Gambling Losses:
Annual Municipal EGM losses, expressed as the number of children who could be fed for a year
The human magnitude of EGM Losses in Brimbank
EGM gambling losses in Brimbank in 2018/19, of $143 million, are equivalent to the cost of feeding 57400 children for one year.
Basis of this Estimate:
Based on the findings of the Food Basket Survey*, which concluded that in 2014 the cost of providing a balanced, nutritious diet to an adult was $126 per fortnight - which has been adjusted here by the Melbourne CPI to $137 in 2019 – equal to $69 per week. The weekly cost for a child has then been estimated at $48 p.w, or $2,493 per annum - based on the proposition that the cost of living for a child is 70% that of an adult – in accord with the OECD equivalence scales used to estimate the prevalence of poverty.
Finally, 2018/19 EGM gambling losses of $143 million in Brimbank are divided by $2,493 to give 57323 – the number of children whom these gambling losses could feed for a year, a figure which is rounded to the nearest 100 in the comment above.
| Government Area |
Losses 2018/19 |
Children Fed |
| Alpine |
4,349,592 |
1,745 |
| Ararat |
5,127,078 |
2,057 |
| Ballarat |
57,540,687 |
23,081 |
| Banyule |
57,758,109 |
23,168 |
| Bass Coast |
17,616,911 |
7,067 |
| Baw Baw |
17,178,585 |
6,891 |
| Bayside |
13,807,870 |
5,539 |
| Benalla |
5,510,447 |
2,210 |
| Boroondara |
20,450,974 |
8,203 |
| Brimbank |
142,904,248 |
57,322 |
| Campaspe |
8,863,074 |
3,555 |
| Cardinia |
28,545,147 |
11,450 |
| Casey |
132,360,622 |
53,093 |
| Central Goldfields |
7,457,634 |
2,991 |
| Colac-Otway |
7,990,796 |
3,205 |
| Corangamite |
2,760,823 |
1,107 |
| Darebin |
81,576,110 |
32,722 |
| East Gippsland |
25,103,672 |
10,070 |
| Frankston |
62,253,455 |
24,971 |
| Gannawarra |
1,942,269 |
779 |
| Glen Eira |
74,244,677 |
29,781 |
| Glenelg |
7,039,926 |
2,824 |
| Greater Bendigo |
50,671,968 |
20,326 |
| Greater Dandenong |
119,311,878 |
47,859 |
| Greater Geelong |
119,070,099 |
47,762 |
| Greater Shepparton |
34,161,100 |
13,703 |
| Hepburn |
2,656,922 |
1,066 |
| Hobsons Bay |
47,042,974 |
18,870 |
| Horsham |
9,923,476 |
3,981 |
| Hume |
111,695,894 |
44,804 |
| Kingston |
85,701,350 |
34,377 |
| Knox |
73,890,071 |
29,639 |
| Latrobe |
46,054,600 |
18,474 |
| Macedon Ranges |
9,594,190 |
3,848 |
| Manningham |
56,358,630 |
22,607 |
| Mansfield |
1,533,604 |
615 |
| Maribyrnong |
57,257,925 |
22,967 |
| Maroondah |
62,861,489 |
25,215 |
| Melbourne |
84,505,932 |
33,897 |
| Melton |
67,781,775 |
27,189 |
| Mildura |
29,990,565 |
12,030 |
| Mitchell |
18,943,555 |
7,599 |
| Moira |
4,083,578 |
1,638 |
| Monash |
110,209,895 |
44,208 |
| Moonee Valley |
77,650,759 |
31,148 |
| Moorabool |
9,683,822 |
3,884 |
| Moreland |
63,600,000 |
25,511 |
| Mornington Peninsula |
83,357,567 |
33,437 |
| Mount Alexander |
2,991,062 |
1,200 |
| Murrindindi |
1,442,753 |
579 |
| Nillumbik |
9,850,088 |
3,951 |
| Northern Grampians |
4,073,506 |
1,634 |
| Port Phillip |
28,426,651 |
11,403 |
| South Gippsland |
6,396,813 |
2,566 |
| Southern Grampians |
6,239,013 |
2,503 |
| Stonnington |
19,862,345 |
7,967 |
| Strathbogie |
1,483,874 |
595 |
| Surf Coast |
3,639,388 |
1,460 |
| Swan Hill |
8,486,158 |
3,404 |
| Towong |
217,960 |
87 |
| Wangaratta |
8,873,356 |
3,559 |
| Warrnambool |
19,365,549 |
7,768 |
| Wellington |
21,540,736 |
8,640 |
| Whitehorse |
52,795,624 |
21,178 |
| Whittlesea |
110,856,168 |
44,467 |
| Wodonga |
7,643,163 |
3,066 |
| Wyndham |
106,057,102 |
42,542 |
| Yarra |
30,265,707 |
12,140 |
| Yarra Ranges |
29,226,804 |
11,724 |
| Victoria |
2,699,710,143 |
1,082,916 |
| Melbourne metro. |
2,102,467,839 |
843,349 |
Source: