This story has been edited to correct an error in calculation.

North Shore residents lost almost $80,000,000 to gambling machines from June through to the end of September last year, as gambling, betting, and hotel organisations made over $1,000,000 in donations to the major political parties in 2024.

This week, the AEC published its annual records of donations made to political parties. It revealed the huge amounts of money gambling groups are able to pour into politics and had us asking the question: why?

The records show gambling companies spent up big, with Tabcorp giving major parties a combined $193,000, Sportsbet $163,000, and The Lottery Corporation $115,000.

Meanwhile, groups like the Australian Hotels Association donated $483,189 and Clubs Australia and Clubs NSW donated a combined $183740 to the major parties.

People of New South Wales are losing an average of $1 million an hour to poker machines — just over $24 million a day. In fact, just in the three months between July-September, $2.25 billion was lost to the pokies.

From June to the end of September last year, North Shore residents lost $79,610,021 across hotels and clubs in Hornsby, Willoughby, Ku-Ring-Gai, North Sydney, Hunters Hill, Canada Bay, and Lane Cove.

💰Just how much is Sydney’s North Shore losing to gambling machines?

• From June 2024 to August 31, clubs in Canada Bay, Hunters Hill, and Lane Cove, raked in $9,821,482 in net profit across 702 machines.

  • Across nine hotels in the area, an additional net profit of $10,317,343 was recorded from July to September 30, 2024.

• In Hornsby, 872 gaming machines across 10 clubs made $11,534,139 in net profit from June to August 31, 2024. 

  • Across 10 hotels in the area, an additional net profit of $8,066,800 was also recorded from July to September 30, 2024.

• In Willoughby, 387 gaming machines across eight clubs brought in $10,921,840 in net profit from June to August 31, 2024.

  • Across eight hotels in the area, an additional net profit of $12,293,497 net profit was recorded from July to September 30, 2024.

• In Mosman and North Sydney, 337 gaming machines across five clubs made $5,979,341 in net profit from June to August 31, 2024.

  • Across 15 hotels in the area, an additional $10,675,578 net profit was recorded from July to September 30, 2024.

All of this data is publicly available on the NSW Liquor and Gaming website.

🗳️ What are our elected officials doing about gambling losses?

These losses are monumental. And while the NSW government has promised to slash the numbers of machines across the state, we have seen a higher amount installed since the Chris Minns government took charge.

The Albanese government once planned to greatly reduce gambling advertisements, but has since gone cold on the idea. A 2023 inquiry recommended online gambling ads be banned within a three year period.

Last year, Lane Cove Council voted on a plan to remove gaming machines from venues it owns — but this would effectively only remove a paltry 17 machines.

👂 North Shore MPs stay tight-lipped about donations from gambling orgs

With residents of the North Shore continuing to lose out in record amounts, we asked the two most prominent elected officials in the region for their thoughts - Paul Fletcher, the outgoing MP for Bradfield, and Julian Leeser, the member for Berowra.

We asked both Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Leeser:

• Whether political parties should accept donations from large gambling organisations

• What they think they companies are expecting for their contribution.

Paul Fletcher declined to comment on Wednesday afternoon, and Julian Leeser did not respond to our request.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported North Shore residents losing more than $100,000,000 to gambling machines in a three month period.

Official reports from 2024 show losses at hotels and clubs from June through to the end of September as closer to $80,000,000. We regret the error.