Newcastle residents have lost an average of $579,000 per day on poker machines in just the first three months of this year.
That's a number City of Newcastle Greens councillors are hoping to see fall in future, urging the council to back efforts to help reduce the harm of gambling within the city.
Councillors will on Tuesday, July 28, discuss a motion to support Wesley Mission's campaign 'Put Pokies in Their Place' on Tuesday, July 28.
Deputy mayor Charlotte McCabe and fellow Greens Joel Pringle and Siobhan Isherwood are calling on their colleagues to vote to support stronger state government action.
The motion follows new figures showing Newcastle residents lost over $52 million on its nearly 3000 poker machines in the first quarter of 2026.
Wesley Mission general manager Joel MacKay said Newcastle residents are on track to lose a quarter of a billion dollars this year alone.
He said the city simply cannot afford to keep delaying gambling reform.
"That is money that should be paying household bills supporting local businesses and helping families through the cost-of-living stress," he said.
"Councils see the financial hardship. They see the pressure on families. They see the growing demand for community services. What they do not have are the powers to regulate poker machines."
Cr Charlotte McCabe said this is a state government responsibility.
"We are very much cut out of being able to have any control over the way poker machines are regulated in our community, which is part of the reason I was so keen to support this campaign by Wesley Mission," she said.
"This is very much having a big impact on our community and we really need these reforms to start happening immediately."
This motion pushes for measures including mandatory cashless gaming cards, a nightly shut-down period, a statewide self-exclusion register, greater transparency with gambling data, and community input into placement of poker machines.
Mr MacKay said even powering down poker machines between midnight and 10am could reduce gambling harm immediately.
"[It] would protect people during the highest risk hours without closing a single venue. It is a practical and proportionate reform that puts people ahead of poker machine profits," he said.
Cr McCabe said cashless gaming cards are not just your typical ATM card.
"It's a card that you use if you are going to a poker machine and there are limits set on the card," she said.
"These need to be mandated, that's the only way you can use poker machines is with these cards.
"It's a way of protecting people from these intentionally-addictive machines to ensure that the most vulnerable in our community are not losing money on these machines that they cannot afford to lose."
Cr Siobhan Isherwood accused the state Labor government of failing to deliver on its commitment to strong gambling reform.
"The number of poker machines in NSW has increased under this Labor government by almost 1000. Tax revenue from poker machines has increased," she said.
"We saw discussions at the state Labor conference, it's good to see some movement, it's good to see it's on the agenda, but we just aren't seeing the law reforms that are needed.
"Desperately needed gambling reforms in NSW, promised by Labor have failed to materialise."
Cr McCabe said they have been calling for these reforms for a "very long time."
"Our position on that is that pretty much all of those announcements were things they'd already announced before or the announcements weren't strong enough"
Discussing poker machines in March 2026, NSW Minister for Gaming and Racing David Harris told the Newcastle Herald that the state government takes gambling harm seriously.
"The NSW government will continue to deliver evidence-based reforms to ensure we are striking the balance of addressing gambling harm while supporting sustainable development of an industry that employs more than 150,000 people in NSW and injects billions into the economy," he said.
Wesley Mission said as one of the state's largest regional voices Newcastle has the opportunity to follow Tweed Shire, Wagga Wagga, and Lismore in backing gambling reform.
"This is not about being anti-pokies. It is about protecting people from catastrophic gambling harm. Newcastle has the opportunity to send a message that communities have had enough. It is time to put people first and put pokies in their place," Mr MacKay said.
