Media release
For immediate release 25 August 2026
City of Sydney unanimously backs push to power down pokies as devastating late-night harm exposed
City of Sydney joins Wesley Mission’s push for stronger safeguards as one resident reveals devastating losses and a recent relapse costing around $600,000 in six months
A City of Sydney resident whose partner has lost more than $4 million to poker machines has welcomed the City’s move to support stronger gambling reforms advocated by Wesley Mission.
The resident, who has asked not to be identified, says the losses have cost their family their home, investments and savings.
After a period of recovery, the partner relapsed, losing around $600,000 in just six months, an average of $25,000 a week. Much of the gambling took place on one night each week, typically between midnight and 4am.
The resident also experienced gaps in the current self-exclusion system first-hand. While their partner could self-exclude from 32 venues, another 109 hotels within the City of Sydney remained accessible.
Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron, says the experience exposes serious gaps in the safeguards meant to protect people experiencing gambling harm.
“Someone losing $25,000 a week, much of it in the middle of the night and early hours of the morning, should set alarm bells ringing. When someone is losing at that level, we must ask: where are the safeguards?
“Gambling harm doesn’t stop with the person sitting at the machine. The awful consequences ripple through partners, families and communities.”
Rev Cameron says the City of Sydney’s support carries weight in the push for reform.
“The City of Sydney is at the heart of Australia’s largest night-time economy. You don’t need poker machines running at two, three or four in the morning to have a vibrant city and thriving nighttime economy.
“Powering down pokies between midnight and 10am is a simple, practical circuit-breaker that can prevent harm. The City of Sydney backing that reform adds real weight to the growing call for change.”
Wesley Mission’s Put Pokies in Their Place campaign calls for practical, evidence-based reforms including powering down poker machines between midnight and 10am, mandatory account-based gaming with harm-minimisation measures, a fully funded independent statewide self-exclusion register, greater community input into local poker machine applications and publishing gambling data venue by venue.
City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore AO, says the council sees first-hand the impact of gambling harm in our community and has consistently called for meaningful reform, including NSW Government action on mandatory cashless gaming, reduced access to gaming machines, and genuine harm-minimisation measures.
“We know what can reduce harm and the case for change is clear. I welcome the growing momentum for change, including the work of Wesley Mission and the many organisations supporting their Put Pokies in Their Place campaign. Now we need the NSW Government to act.”
“We know gaming machines disproportionately target and affect already vulnerable people, and we know they are linked to bankruptcy, homelessness, crime, and even suicide. These figures are not just numbers. They represent lost savings, unpaid bills, broken relationships, family violence, declining mental health, and lives devastated by addiction."
"Imagine our late-night venues filled with people, art, music and community, rather than smoky backrooms filled with rows of gaming machines."
Rev Cameron says the growing council support sends a clear message.
“From Sydney to Tweed Shire to Wagga Wagga, councils across the state are calling for practical poker machine reform. The momentum is building and the evidence is clear. It is time for the NSW Government to act.”
ENDS
Wesley Mission CEO, Rev Stu Cameron, is available for interview.
Media contact: Anne Holt 0418 628 342 (preferred) or [email protected]