Friday, January 19, 2007

"Christchurch is off to a bad start in 2007, defending its dubious title as
the gambling-related crime capital of New Zealand," says John Stansfield,
CEO for the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGF). "Yet again, a
business has been run to the ground and its customers left out of pocket
because of a gambling problem," says Mr Stansfield. "The Christchurch
community and its businesses are suffering because of people committing
fraud and theft to fund their gambling and it is costing them significant
amounts of money," says David Coom, PGF's South Island Regional Manager.
"From cases reported in the media, we know of over $4.7 million that has
been embezzled or stolen which the gambling industry has gladly taken," says
Mr Coom. "These are only the cases where a clear link between the amount of
money stolen and a gambling problem is reported. We believe that the
relationship between crime and gambling goes much deeper," says Mr Coom. "If
only $4.7 million was reported as being criminally obtained in Christchurch,
I would hate to think what the real figure is both in Christchurch and
nationally," says Stansfield. "The other question we should be asking is,
how much unreported crime is the result of problem gambling?" says
Stansfield.