Tuesday, October 31, 2006

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