Logan punters recorded among the highest pokies losses in Queensland last year, according to a Queensland Audit Office report.
More than $230 million was lost on Logan gaming machines in just one year – that’s $853 per resident – which is the third-highest figure in the state.
Only Gold Coast and Ipswich recorded higher losses, with $447 million and $242 million, respectively.
In Logan, more than $18 million was spent on pokies in June 2023 alone, across more than 2100 machines.
In total, the state recorded $3.24 billion of losses on poker machines last year.
The Queensland government collected $1.9 billion in gambling taxes and levies in the same period, with pokies taxes contributing 52 per cent.
The audit office report found the state government’s current strategies to minimising gambling harm had made progress and were effective but “required tweaking”.
Among many criticisms, the report said the Department of Justice and Attorney-General’s understanding of gambling harms were “outdated”, its insights were “insufficient”, and its reduction strategies required more “monitoring, oversight, and reporting”.
The department’s director-general welcomed the report and its recommendations.
