The number equates to almost every resident over the age of 20 spending about $500 on the machines.

Liquor and Gaming NSW recently released its latest data on gaming machines across the state for the last half of 2019.

Data for hotels was collected from July 1 to December 31 and from June 1 to November 30 for clubs.

When it came to net profits the Bega Valley's clubs made about $10.3million from pokies while hotels brought in about $2.1million, but combined the government tax was about $1.8million

With the Australian Bureau of Statistics stating there were 26,210 people in the region over the age of 20, the combined net profits from clubs and hotels equates to those residents spending about $473 each on pokies over the six months.

The recent net profit figure for the Bega Valley was slightly lower than the first half of 2019, when pokies brought in $12.7million.

READ MORE: Liquor and Gaming data shows $80 million profit in six months made on South Coast pokies

The most recent data states across the region 12 clubs have 550 gaming machines while 10 hotels have 89, equalling 639 machines in total.

The overall number of machines has decreased slightly over time, because in the last half of 2018 there were 575 machines at 12 club premises across the Bega Valley and 90 machines at 11 hotels.

READ MORE: Poker machine numbers down statewide but profits still on the rise

In a statement, Alliance for Gambling Reform chief advocate Reverend Tim Costello said the Liquor and Gaming data highlighted how devastating an impact poker machines had in NSW.

"When you consider the majority of people in the state don't gamble on poker machines, that means there are some people losing tens of thousands of dollars a year to a predatory industry," he said.

"In extreme cases, poker machines can cause the loss of lives through connections to some deaths by suicide.

"Then there is the loss of homes, families, relationships, jobs, cars and much more due to gambling harm."

Reverend Costello said the COVID-19 crisis highlighted how ingrained gambling interests were in Australian politics.

"It took much longer than it should have to get poker machine venues and casinos shut down, with special exemptions being issued for casinos to continue operating," he said.

Late March, as part of its COVID-19 stage two package the NSW government announced the deferral of the gaming tax for clubs, pubs and hotels, and lotteries tax for six months

In a media release the government stated the deferral was conditional on these funds being used to retain staff, and stated the move would improve liquidity and help these businesses stay afloat.

Liquor and Gaming will begin to release the reports quarterly instead of every six months.

The results for the first quarter of this year are expected to be low after the Australia-wide closure of pubs and clubs last month due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.