The City of Greater Geelong has adopted a gaming policy to provide guidance on the location of gaming machines in the municipality.

Council's Governance portfolio holder Cr Jan Farrell said the Geelong Gaming Framework had been prepared following the introduction of state legislation in 2006 requiring a planning permit for the installation of gaming machines in all venues.

"Given the legislative changes and the particular gaming profile in the municipality Council has developed a policy for inclusion in the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme.

"In general terms the Gaming Framework seeks to avoid concentrations of gaming machines in areas of economic or social disadvantage and to ensure that gaming machines are not so easy to access that they inspire casual use," Cr Farrell said.

There are currently 1371 gaming machines within the City of Greater Geelong divided between 26 venues.

The overall density of machines in Greater Geelong is nine machines per 1000 adult residents with an average annual expenditure per adult of $689. The Geelong figures exceed the state average of 6.92 machines per 1000 adults and an average adult expenditure of $630.

Cr Farrell said the statistics showed that some areas in the City of Greater Geelong that score low on standard socio economic indices were vulnerable to the negative effects of gaming.

"Certain communities in Geelong are particularly at risk given they have a high density of gaming machines," Cr Farrell said.

"The Greater Geelong Gaming Framework aims to achieve an appropriate redistribution of gaming machines to discourage their concentration in disadvantaged areas and to ensure that gaming venues are not in high traffic areas where there is the likelihood of large numbers of people passing by," she added.

Cr Farrell said the City had worked with the Surf Coast Shire to develop the Gaming Framework and supported the establishment of a working group with Surf Coast Shire and other stakeholders to provide a regional perspective on gaming related issues.