The figure equates to more than $560 per adult within the City of Greater Bendigo.

Punters injected $1.28 million more into the city’s machines than the previous financial year.

Bendigo’s faith-based service providers spokesman Matthew Parkinson said he was disappointed spending on the pokies had risen after a drop during the previous financial year.

“I am a little surprised when we consider the retail sector is struggling and the gloom and doom talk around the world with a possible global financial crisis,” he said.

“It is another $1.28 million coming out of the Bendigo community that has to be coming from somewhere and most likely its those that are struggling already.

“Too much money is going out of Bendigo.”

The 2010-11 spend fell short of the city’s record of $46.5 million during 2008-09.

Spending on poker machines rose every month of the 2010-11 financial year except July when it fell about $29,000. But July remained among the biggest spend months, with poker machines swallowing more than $4.03 million.

The biggest spend was in August when punters put almost $4.06 million into Bendigo’s poker machines.

The biggest rise in spending was in September when people gambled about $273,000 more than the same month a year earlier.

Mr Parkinson said the increased spend reinforced the need for the city’s faith-based providers to campaign against more poker machines for Bendigo.

He said the group would lobby the State Government to reduce Bendigo’s poker machine cap to 547, the current number of poker machines in the municipality.

Mr Parkinson said the providers wanted a mandatory pre-commitment scheme.

“It is disappointing that this form of gambling is called recreational,” he said.

“It is disappointing there is a large amount being spent on pokies campaigns – it’s far more than we can spend.

“I think that we have just got to keep working on this.

“We need to keep getting the message out there.”