Today, New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) released a report revealing that the amount spent by local citizens on the four major gambling areas rose by NZ$49 million in comparison to the previous fiscal year, reaching NZ$2.38 billion.
The report confirmed anti-gambling campaigners’ concerns that more money is being spent on gambling, with sports betting and poker machines being the main drivers of the spending increase. Players’ spending on sports betting increased by 3.6%, while spending on poker machines, also known as pokies, marked a 2.9% growth. The other two main gambling areas – casinos and lotteries – both saw a spending increase of 1.1%.
In spite of the larger spending, the average amount paid to gambling operators per person fell from NZ$648 to NZ$634 in the 2017/18 year.
According to the Department of Internal Affairs, increased spending on sports betting was partly due to targeted marketing campaigns used by gambling operators. The DIA explained that the increase in the betting turnover came as a result of a number of factors, including significant growth registered in digital channels via product and special enhancements, as well as a number of successful marketing campaigns such as FIFA World Cup and the Spring Racing Carnival.
The spending on lotteries, on the other hand, was attributed to enhancements made to Lotto games, as well as to the longer period of time in which no one managed to win the jackpot.
Problem Gambling Foundation Finds New Figures Concerning
Gambling spending on pokies in the fiscal 2017/18 rose from NZ$870 million in the previous year to NZ$895 million, followed by casinos where customer spending increased from NZ$572 million to NZ$578 million. Lotteries were third, with customer spending being estimated to NZ$561 million, up from NZ$555 million over the previous financial year. TAB’s racing and sports betting operations also saw an increase in New Zealanders’ spending, from NZ$338 million to NZ$350 million
The Problem Gambling Foundation, found the figures very concerning, despite the fact that they were not surprising, as explained by spokeswoman Andree Froude. Ms Froude explained that it was not accurate to look at the result on a per person basis, because not every adult in the nation gambles.
As shared by the Problem Gambling Foundation’s spokeswoman, the large money flow is not generated by many people who spend a little bit, but it rather comes from a few people who spend a lot. Ms Froude gave an example with controversial pokies, saying that 87% of New Zealand’s residents did not even bet on poker machines.
Apart from that, she also commented on the aggressive marketing campaigns used by TAB to promote sports betting, saying that such an approach made gambling look normal to people. Moreover, such an eager gambling promotion could attract a new demographic group, consisting of young men, to the sports betting services.
- Author
Olivia Cole
