The proposal that the ACT government’s take 8% of club poker machines revenues from clubs and give to an independent group to distribute across Canberra concerned us particularly in relation to the Vikings group of clubs. The Vikings club, unlike most other clubs (expect perhaps the Burns Club), are only situated in Tuggeranong.
All income is generated from the people of Tuggeranong and while the Vikings each year support groups that operate through the whole of the ACT eg Oz Harvest, Red Nose and Mary Mead, they mostly support all sorts of organisation within Tuggeranong itself. Over the last three years the Viking club has supported over 220 community groups most of which are in Tuggeranong, including the Tuggeranong Community Council. With this proposal local community and sporting groups in Tuggeranong could lose a lot of their support.
We received a response from government that the 8% would be left to the clubs but poker machine money over and above this might be taken. As clubs often spend more than 8% on the community we also have a problem with this.