Pacific people in New Zealand have been experiencing a disproportionate level of gambling-related harm in comparison to the ones living in the rest of the country, which is why there have been calls for regional authorities to bring in stricter rules in order to protect these people.
According to reports, Pacific people account for about 21% of all New Zealanders who are seeking treatment for problem gambling. Furthermore, local experts, such as the Canterbury-based counsellor Phil Siataga, have noted that gambling was still a pretty much hidden problem in the region, with local people often just sliding into extremely serious gambling-related harm.
As Gerhart Berking, a spokesperson for Mapu Maia that currently represents the gambling support service for Pacific people, explained that people from the local community are exposed to an uneven level of gambling-related harm compared to the ones in the rest of the country.
Mr Berking also noted that people from New Zealand’s Pacific region were more likely to inhabit areas with higher levels of deprivation that at the same time feature an extremely large number of opportunities to gamble – a combination of factors that could be highly contributing to massive levels of potential gambling-related harm. According to him, the Pacific region needs stronger stricter crackdown policies regarding local gambling environments, considering the fact people who live there are much more predisposed from suffering from some negative consequences associated with gambling.
Poker Machines Still a Major Cause for Gambling-Related Harm
The calls for regional New Zealand authorities to unveil tougher gambling legislation have become even stronger after the Christchurch City Council announced its decision to renew the current sinking lid policy that has been in place since 2004.
As Casino Guardian previously reported, the sinking lid policy has been implemented by the local City Council as a measure to prevent the issuing of new gambling permits for clubs and pubs operating so-called poker machines. In addition, the current holders of pokie operating licences are not allowed to transfer their permits to other locations even if they cease operation.
Despite the aforementioned sinking lid policy, Christchurch remains the city with the largest number of poker machines per capita in the country.
What has also been found concerning by specialists was the fact that the coronavirus pandemic put even more financial pressure on people due to Pacific people’s specific socio-economic status that is generally low. On top of that, poker machines have become a major problem for the local community, with Pacific people are over twice as likely to face moderate to severe gambling-related harm in comparison to people originating from any other group in New Zealand.
Reportedly, so-called Class 4 gambling has been the most identified problem-related issue when it comes to customers from Pacific communities who have been getting some help from Mapu Maia’s support system. The group has also revealed there is a strong correlation between family or partner violence for women and children and gambling.
- Author
Daniel Williams
