Orange continues to lose millions through pub and club poker machines, according to NSW government report

According to newly released data from Liquor and Gaming NSW, Orange clubs and hotels recorded a $38.89 million net profit last year.

Following the release of the six monthly data it was revealed that in 2022, clubs earned $22.4 million and hotels earned $16.49 million from pokies in the Colour City.

That roughly equates to $744,423 per week, compared to $600,000 in 2021.

Unsurprisingly Orange Ex-Services Club was the venue with the highest number of gaming machines, 219 to be exact.

They came in at number 53 in the state in terms of net profit. For comparison, Dubbo RSL came in at 59^th, Bathurst RSL came in at 112^th and Bathurst Panthers 155^th.

On the pub scene, the Ophir Hotel had the highest number of pokies with 29 and they were ranked 224^th in the state for profit.

Interestingly, the number of gaming machines in hotels in Orange actually dropped from 158 in the first half of the year to 149 by year's end.

However despite this, more than $1 million extra was put through hotel pokie rooms - $8,791,388 compared to $7,688,305.

Orange remains behind Dubbo when it comes to gambling habits. Our northern neighbours spent an eye-watering $51.7 million.

$29.7 million in profit was made in Bathurst venues and punters in Mudgee (Mid-Western council area) put $22.58 million into their machines.

Poker machine profits were generally on the increase since 2017 but exploded after the initial COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

An expected drop-off can be seen in the Jan-June 2020 reporting window below only to jump.

Another dip in 2021 was followed by a resurgence again on the club scene while hotels have continued to grow well beyond the initial post-lockdown boost.

Looking at the rest of NSW, people are losing more than $23 million every day and losses in pubs and clubs amounted to $4.26 billion in late 2022.

New premier Chris Minns conceded that the number and volume of losses in NSW - home to about half of all of Australia's poker machines - is a "major problem".

"We've got to make sure policy changes that we do pursue are consistent with the realities that we are facing," he told reporters on Wednesday, April 26.

He has promised a cashless card trial on 500 machines to be undertaken from July 1 after the issue was prominent during the election.

Reading this on mobile web? Download our news app. It's faster, easier to read and we'll send you alerts for breaking news as it happens. Download in the Apple Store or Google Play.