Pokie takings in the country's 1330 pubs and clubs dropped 7 per cent in the first three months of this year compared with the last three months of 2013.
Figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs show spending dropped from $206.7 million in the fourth quarter of last year to to $192.8 million in the first quarter of this year.
The drop was in line with annual trends, with takings for the 12 months to March this year down 2 per cent from $828.7 million to $811.6 million, the department said.
Nationwide there were fewer licence-holders, gambling venues and gaming machines at the end of March compared with the same time last year.
Licence-holder numbers fell from 353 to 336, venues declined from 1367 to 1330 and the number of gaming machines decreased from 17,542 to 17,182.
The spending is recorded through electronic monitoring of non-casino gaming machines.
Non-casino spending, January - March 2014
Non-club $167,682,413.30, 87% of spending
Sports clubs $3,788,988.01, 2.0% of spending
Chartered clubs $14,948,301.31, 8.2% of spending
RSAs $6,341,445.59, 3.3% of spending
