The Canberra Tradies Club has toppled the City Labor Club for having the highest gross revenue per poker machine, with the club's 309 machines taking in some $17 million last fiscal year.
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The latest annual report on poker machine revenue and community contributions also showed the total gross revenue all the city's machines took in 2017-18 fell from $168 million to $167 million, largely due to the closure of the Woden Tradies Club.
The figures also show the biggest clubs are making the most profit, while many of the city's smallest clubs are making less, a situation the industry has previously said was being made more difficult by rising costs and problems diversifying revenue away from gambling.
The six clubs making the biggest revenue windfalls from the machines also had the lowest community contributions of all clubs, as a percentage of their revenue, compared with small and medium clubs.
It comes ahead of major reforms to take effect from January 31 next year which will see clubs forced to start surrendering machine authorisations as part of the government's bid the cut the number of machines down to 4000.
Despite the Tradies Club's pokies taking in $56,005 in gross revenue per machine in 2017-18, its net revenue per machine - the figure used to calculate community contributions - was $30,411, slightly lower than the City Labor Club's net revenue of $31,816 per machines.
While gross revenue is reported by all clubs, as the total amount of money poured into the machines in a given year, clubs are levied eight per cent for community contributions on their net revenue, a figure calculated after club expenses are included.
Overall, the City Labor Club's 62 machines took in $3.45 million in gross revenue in 2017-18, with the entire Labor Club group's pokies across its four clubs taking in $24.65 million.
The figures show the Labor Club Group continues to have the most profitable poker machines of all club groups in the city, despite the Tradies' Dickson club reporting the highest gross revenue per machines.
The Southern Cross Club group was the next highest, with gross revenue of $25.5 million from its 594 machines in three clubs, followed by both the Raiders Club Group and Vikings Club Group reporting $24.5 million in gross revenue from 624 and 559 machines, respectively.
Rounding out the top six club groups in the city in 2017-18 was Ainslie Club Group, reporting $14.5 million in gross revenue from 423 machines in two clubs and the Hellenic Club Group reporting $11.5 million from 245 machines in its two clubs.
Of the top individual clubs for gross revenue in 2017-18, behind Tradies and City Labor Club, were Canberra Labor Club, with $15.2 million from 252 machines, the Hellenic Club with $10.6 million from 205 machines and the Southern Cross Club with $13.4 million from 280 machines.
The report shows that 14 small and medium-sized clubs made less than $1 million in gross revenue from their machines in 2017-18 and 24 clubs made between $1 million and $10 million in gross revenue in the same period.
Some 18 clubs also made between $1 million and $5 million in net revenue in 2017-18.
