Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

The introduction of the Gambling Act three years ago has had little impact on decreasing pokie machines in some regions in New Zealand and it's obviously not working well, says a gambling lobby group. Gambling Watch coordinator David Macpherson said all New Zealand regions had shown a drop in machines in the last three years with a nationwide decrease of 10.1 per cent, but some regions were well below the average. Southland and Waikato both had a reduction of less than 4 per cent. "Some localities within those regions have actually recorded significant increases in pokies," Mr Macpherson said. "It is obvious that the stated aim of the Act, to control the growth of gambling and to prevent and minimise harm caused by it, is not working particularly well in some areas." However, in other regions community concern about the harmful effects of pokie machines was having an impact with numbers decreasing about 15 per cent, he said. "We are pleased that some regions of high pokie concentration, such as the West Coast and Northland, are showing decreases significantly ahead of the national average." Pokie machines are cited by almost 90 per cent of people treated for gambling addiction as the primary cause of their problem.

West Coast Region -15.2 Otago Region -5.8 Waikato Region -3.9 Canterbury Region -8.5 Hawkes Bay Region -7.2 Marlborough Region -13.4 Bay of Plenty Region -5.0 Manawatu-Wanganui Region -8.9 Southland Region -3.7 Taranaki Region -10.1 Northland Region -14.4 New Zealand -10.1 Tasman/Nelson Region -9.4 Gisborne Region -8.2 Wellington Region -8.3 Auckland Region -8.2