Since the introduction of poker machines in Victoria 30 years ago, an astounding $66 billion has been lost.

Reverend Tim Costello, the lead advocate from The Alliance for Gambling Reform, said that the losses should be measured in “bankruptcies, family breakdown, poverty, crime that blocks up our courts, and suicide”.

“Only 18 per cent of Australians play the pokies and yet we have a staggering $66 billion loss in 30 years.”

Australia tops the world in gambling losses.

“Nowhere else in the world do they allow such access to gambling as they do here,” said Rev. Costello.

According to the Alliance the $66 billion loss figure is born of analysis using publicly available information from the regulator, the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission.

There are many stories of Greek Australians falling victim to poker machines.

A woman whose husband died ten years ago, “began to play the pokies and lost a house in less than a year,” Neos Kosmos was told by a friend of the victim, who wished to remain anonymous.

A man in his fifties, borrowed money from a friend, “to get through the last weekend, he’d lost his wage gambling, he then sunk that into the pokies”.

Another woman in her seventies lost her “late the inheritance left by her late husband and played her weekly pension at the pokies”.

Neos Kosmos cannot reveal the names of these victims.

Shame often stops people from seeking out help said Kathy Barbakos, the Family and Community Services Coordinator of the Greek welfare agency PRONIA.

PRONIA agency recently ran a short film that highlighted “personal stories of gambling harm and recovery”.

“Not as many turned up, and shame plays a big role in them not turning up,” Ms Barbakos said.

Greeks gamble, as do the Chinese, Irish, Italians and Australians, “there is nothing unique about Australians,” said Rev. Costello.

Before the poker machine colonisation of RSL clubs and hotels, Greeks played cards in the kafenio, or at home.

“At the kafenio they’d gamble, but there was some cultural and social constraint. If you were losing too much somebody then took the responsibility to say, ‘look you’re losing, think of your family,'” Ms Barbakos told Neos Kosmos.

All social and cultural controls have been lost with the poker machines said Rev. Costello.

“I am not a prohibitionist, but there is no social or cultural control, these machines are predatory – they target the individual; many of whom are lonely people, and people with mental health issues,” he told Neos Kosmos.

The son of woman with dementia came to Rev. Costello and told him that he begged a club to stop his mother from gambling.

“He told the club that his mother was unstable, that she needs to be stopped, instead the club said was that she’s an individual and she can do what she wants.”

“No family member, no spouse, can stop a loved one from playing the pokies. The venue managers argue that it is up to the individual.”

Rev. Costello talked about Gary Van Duinen, who was targeted by Dee Why RSL with VIP treatment. “He took his own life in 2018 after a 13-hour pokies session.”

His widow Sonia Van Duinen “fought Dee Why RSL numerous times to ban him from gambling but to no avail”.

Rev. Costello blamed accessibility across the 30,000, poker machines in suburban pubs and clubs.

“Pokies are everywhere so when you’re going to buy your milk and bread, you’re drawn in and this is a shocking transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich.”

He took aim at Labor which “should be protecting the vulnerable as many of these poker machines are in low income and traditional Labor seats.”

“Irresponsible governments on both sides are the problem, the gambling industry has captured regulators and both sides of politics,” Rev. Costello told Neos Kosmos.

“Pokies weren’t coming up for renewal for five years and in 2017 Dan Andrews gave them licences to 2045.”

He said that the largest donation from the gambling industry of $761,000 was to Victorian Labor.

Even when local governments try to limit the amount of poker machines in their wards, they are overruled by the state government.

“Just now, the City of Melbourne wanted to reject an additional fifty poker machines from being located at the corner of Hardware Lane and Lonsdale Street, but the Victorian planning minister failed to approve the council amendment and that an amendment was submitted in 2019,” Rev. Costello said.

He compered the “control of legislators by the Australian gambling industry” to the way the National Rifle Association in the United States controls legislators and blocks any meaningful gun reform.

If you or a member of your family is struggling with gambling issues please contact PRONIA (03) 9388 9998, or Gamblers Help on 1800 858 858 for confidential support