Victorians lost a record $4.8 billion in gambling last year with poker machines taking in $2.6 billion. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Poker machines in pubs and clubs were the biggest money magnet, draining $2.6 billion from players' pockets.
The remainder was blown at Crown Casino and on lotteries and wagering.
The biggest winner was the Victorian government, with gambling revenue injecting almost $1.6 billion into state coffers in taxes and levies.
This is about $36 million up on revenue the previous year when losses were about $85 million less.
The windfall - detailed in a Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation (VCGR) report, tabled in state parliament today - has raised the ire of the opposition and anti-gambling groups.
Opposition gaming spokesman Michael O'Brien said the government was relying on gaming revenue to run the state and warned that would only worsen with the slowing economy.
"Labor is now so dependent on gambling to fund basic services that its gaming tax collections are around the same as Victoria Police's annual budget," he said.
"Victorians don't want police numbers dependent on pokie numbers. Hospital beds shouldn't rely on horse racing. The state Labor government should be prepared to fund basic services without this over-reliance on gambling taxes," Mr O'Brien said.
There are almost 27,000 poker machines at 520 licensed venues across the state - excluding Crown Casino.
The $2.6 billion lost at the pokies equates to $647 per Victorian adult.
Victorian Interchurch Gambling Taskforce chairman Mark Zirnsak said the cost of problem gambling was mounting and called on the government to act.
"There's still a long way to go before you can argue they've taken all reasonable measures to reduce the harm, and these losses are paid for in the sense of more people going through marriage break-ups ... losing their homes and all the hardships families have to go through as a result of gambling problems."
Dr Zirnsak called for an urgent increase in funding for research into problem gambling solutions. The current $1.4 million yearly budget equated to less than $1 for every $1,000 reaped in gambling taxes, he said.
Dr Zirnsak also wants maximum pokies betting limits further reduced to $1 per spin, plans for mandatory time and spend limits fast-tracked and training to enable staff to intervene when problem gamblers are playing.
Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the government had provided record funding of about $130 million to help problem gamblers.
"For the vast majority of people gambling is a legitimate recreational activity but there are some in our community who do have a problem and our job is to properly support them," he said.
