SYDNEY – Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW), saw record-high losses in slot machines, last year, despite gambling harm minimization measures introduced by the state government.
According to the latest figures from Liquor and Gaming NSW, the state’s liquor and gaming regulator, slot machine losses in the state totaled 8.64 billion Australian dollars (5.53 billion U.S. dollars) last year.
It represents a 6.4-percent increase from the 8.12 billion Australian dollars (5.19 billion U.S. dollars) lost in 2023, and the highest figure on record.
Since 2019, slot machine losses in NSW have increased by 30.7 percent from 6.61 billion Australian dollars (4.23 billion U.S. dollars).
In the final three months of 2024, Liquor and Gaming NSW said that, slot machine losses exceeded one million Australian dollars per hour on average.– NNN-AAP