Collingwood FC Pressured to Stop Relying On Pokies

Collingwood Football Club is one of the biggest pokie operators in Australia. The team operates hundreds of pokies across Melbourne, but local city councillors want Collingwood to stop relying so much on its gaming profits.

Recently, Melbourne City Council has started negotiations with Collingwood, which would provide the local community with access to the club’s training centre and grounds. The deal is worth over $3 million over the course of 10 years, but city councillors are reluctant to go through with the plan if Collingwood continues to rely on poker machines. The condition has been called the ‘Collingwood clause’, which aims to encourage the club to take steps towards tackling gambling addiction.

Currently, Collingwood operates two pokie clubs, The Club in Caroline Springs and The Coach and Horses in Ringwood. Players spent over $10 million on pokies at the two venues in 2015, and Collingwood earns an operating profit upwards of $5 million every year.

“We would encourage the club to exit the pokies by the halfway point of the deal,’’ says Councillor Stephen Mayne.

Cr Mayne argues that many more councillors will support the deal if Collingwood were to reduce its reliance on pokie profits. The new deal would make up for the loss of gaming revenue, as it would mean that more people would be able to take advantage of Collingwood’s currently underused facilities. While the club has yet to respond to this request, it seems to be considering the clause.

“We expect a mutually beneficial outcome to emerge from these negotiations,” says Collingwood spokesman Stephen Reilly.

Several clubs across Australia have cut their ties with the gambling industry, deciding to focus instead of food and beverage service. Collingwood could take the deal and continue to turn a profit – but, there is no telling how the negotiations will go.