Western Bulldogs CEO Ameet Bains says the Club’s exit from the gaming industry is a ‘terrific outcome’, after the sale agreement with the Melbourne Racing Club (MRC) was finalised on Monday.

The announcement, which came shortly after the Daniel Andrews State Government pledged $36.6 million towards the next stage of the Whitten Oval redevelopment project, is something the Club has been working towards for quite some time, Bains said.

“The last week has been enormous really – clearly the work of many people over many years is culminating in a couple of terrific outcomes in particular,” the Bulldogs’ CEO told Gerard Whateley on SEN 1116.

“(Exiting the gaming industry) has been a strategy and a want for a number of years now, and full credit to our board as it’s been something they’ve been wanting to pursue.

“Over the last two to three years those discussions and that intention became more of a reality.”

We just felt it was really inconsistent with the impact we were having within the community to still be holding onto the machines, given some of the well-documented challenges (the machines) present to the community.

- CEO Ameet Bains

Bains explained what motivated the Club to divest itself from gaming machine ownership. 

“Through our Western Bulldogs Community Foundation, we have a long-standing history of delivering really positive, social and impactful programs through the west of Victoria, particularly within men’s and women’s health,” he said.

“We just felt it was really inconsistent with the impact we were having within the community to still be holding onto the machines, given some of the well-documented challenges (the machines) present to the community.”

The Bulldogs Chief Executive also assured listeners and the Bulldogs faithful that the lost revenue will be restored.

“It’s a seven-figure sum that comes from it, so we don’t make these decisions lightly but for us, part of the process over the last three to four years has really been identifying how that revenue will be replaced,” he said.

“We’ll still be the land owner on (the Peninsula Club in Dromana) so there’ll be a rental revenue that will still be acquired by the Club. 

“(Also) through the Whitten Oval redevelopment, there’ll be a number of initiatives that will see us build that annual revenue stream back"