By the end of the year, all electronic gaming machines in the Australian state of Victoria will be required to offer gamblers the option to set a pre-determined gambling limit.

New data from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation has shown that Victorian punters have blown more than $2.57b on pokies in the last financial year, a 2.7% year-on-year increase.

The losses have renewed calls for more to be done to reduce the harm of pokies, including limiting bets to $1 per spin for the state’s 30,000 poker machines.

Areas with the highest losses are among the state’s most disadvantaged, such as Dandenong region, with its 11.2% unemployment rate, lost $19.7m. The Brimbank Council area, with an unemployment rate of 9.29%, had the greatest losses overall at more than $139m.