No Pokies, no problems: The bowling club that never looked back
Petersham Bowling Club was heading towards poverty, when the board’s decision to remove all of their pokies in 2007 changed their business for the better.
Club president George Catsi said that the shift from pokies, a staple of many NSW bowling clubs, to live entertainment and other events has generated them more profit than the slots ever did, with a 700 per cent increase in turnover.
“I came at it from a position of, this is a valuable space that’s here, the club owns the land. They could have developed it,” he told news.com.au.
“So I suppose we came in on a platform of engagement, and we were feeling that the club wasn’t engaging with its community.”
Over the last calendar week alone, the club has hosted trivia, life drawing, poetry, two music gigs, Pinot and Picasso, a community radio show, and Sunday bowls.
“You’ve got to create a place that people go. This place is such a great vibe, and it’s got such interesting things going. People will fight for that,” Catsi said.
“This is what clubs should be – they should be hubs. My problem with a lot of other clubs is that they forgot that.”
Catsi said that they took over the bowling club because it was struggling, and recognised that the pokies weren’t “saving them” or a “guaranteed lifeline”, as they still needed to get people through to the club.
He also said that clubs relying on the slot machines for income are “doomed” because they are not open to welcoming and accommodating to the wider communities.
“Is it lazy income now? Yes, it is. Absolutely. Because it’s just embedded as part of your income stream, and you don’t want to let go of it,” Catsi said.
“It’s also governments … they’re also addicted to the gambling money.”
Pokies are going to be one of the major issues for the upcoming NSW election on March 25.
Both parties have vowed to make considerable changes, but neither are going to remove the slots completely.
Image: Getty