Kiwis squandered over NZ$2.6 billion on the four most widespread types of gambling during the 2020-2021 financial year, the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs revealed. The overall gambling spend of the country’s residents grew by 17% compared to the previous financial year. Class 4 slot machines located in TABs, bars, and clubs accounted for NZ$987 million of the overall gambling spend, which corresponds to a 23% increase.
This is the highest amount spent on slots in five years despite the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns it brought. As a result of these disconcerting figures, the local government announced a public consultation whose purpose is to target and minimise the harms slot players suffer. The Problem Gambling Foundation readily embraced the move.
According to the Foundation’s spokesperson Andree Froude, most of the money spent on slots, or pokies as the locals call them, comes from the pockets of those who can least afford to suffer financial losses. The harmful impact of these machines is disproportionate in the country and is especially pronounced among the Pasifika, Maori, and Asian communities.
High-Deprivation Areas Have the Most Pokie Venues
More than 60% of the pokie venues in New Zealand are located within areas with medium-high to high rates of poverty. The restrictive measures during the pandemic did little to decrease the gambling spend of the locals who returned to pokies as soon as the restrictions were lifted. The figures for the 2020-2021 financial year suggest they have spent the equivalent of NZ$730 for each adult person in New Zealand.
Spokesperson Froude thinks the newly announced consultation serves as a great opportunity for locals to express their stance on slot machines in the country. It would encourage locals to discuss the issue within their communities and condemn the practice of preying on people based in high-deprivation areas.
Class 4 slot machines available in non-casino venues like pubs are among the most detrimental forms of gaming, according to spokesperson Froude. Approximately 50% of those who seek assistance for gambling problems cite Class 4 pokies as their primary form of gaming. Problem gambling can have various adverse effects, including job loss, child neglect, a decline in mental well-being, and fraud, the spokesperson concluded.
A Health and Lifestyles Survey conducted in 2018 among regular slot players indicated their chances of becoming at-risk gamblers or suffering some form of gambling-related harm were more than twice as high compared to those of other gamblers.
The public review launched by the Department of Internal Affairs will continue for a period of six weeks. New Zealand authorities are considering various options on how to prevent further pokie-related harm, including staff training in pubs and clubs, imposing more penalties, and introducing changes to Class 4 slot machines.
- Author
Daniel Williams
