Pokies taking $32k a day
Almost $12 million was lost to pokie machines across South Canterbury in 2021, and Timaru machines gobbled up most of that, according to Department of Internal Affairs figures.
More than $10m, which equates to $28,000 a day, was spent on pokie machines in Timaru alone.
This figure is the amount lost to machines, also known as gaming machine profit (GMP), and does not include any winnings paid out to gamblers.
In Timaru, $10,150,461 was lost at 166 pokie machines across 13 venues, 11 of which are located in medium to medium-high deprivation areas. That loss was up by $1.5m on 2020.
Timaru tops figures for annual per person spend on pokies for the Canterbury region, averaging $279.65 per adult, compared to a national average of $238.85 per adult.
On average, every pokie machine in the district makes more than double Timaru’s median income of $30,300, ‘‘earning’’ $61,147 per year, according to analysis by the Problem Gambling Foundation.
The Mackenzie district, which comes in a close second with an average spend per adult resident of $272.34 in 2021, saw $1,055,595 (about $2900 a day) lost at 37 pokie machines across four venues. This was an increase of $270,000 on the year before.
Two venues accounted for more than $500,000 lost in Waimate, with 16 pokie machines taking in $608,377 in the district in 2021. Both venues are classified as being located in very high deprivation areas, according to the Department of Internal Affairs.
Waimate’s average adult spend in 2021 was the lowest in Canterbury, at $98.11 per person.
Figures for the first quarter of 2022 are on track to reach around the same amounts as 2021, with the gambling machine profit between January and March 2022 for Timaru at $2,336,972, $291,166 lost in the Mackenzie and $132,381 in Waimate.
Nationwide, the amount lost on pokies across New Zealand in 2021 was close to $1 billion ($987m).
Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Froude said Class 4 (gaming machines outside of casinos) are the most harmful form of gambling, because the feedback is continuous and swift.
‘‘You put your money in, you get the result really quickly, you can reinvest your money and play again really quickly.
‘‘They’re highly addictive and that’s why they’re classified as being the most harmful.’’
Froude said while the Foundation supports sinking lid policies, it is a very slow way to reduce machine numbers, because it relies on venues closing down.
‘‘We’d really like to see councils do more, so the numbers of pokies can go down and the spend can go down.
‘‘It can be difficult for councils, because they probably feel like their hands are tied, sinking lids might seem like the best policy available to them,’’ Froude said.
The Gambling Act requires councils to review their Class 4 gambling venue policy every three years, and consult with the community if they intend to change or replace their policy.
Work is underway by the Timaru District Council on its gambling venue policy review.
In late 2021, the Mackenzie District Council adopted a sinking lid policy on pokie machines, which means no new licences will be granted.
The Waimate District Council is overdue to review its gambling venue policy. At present, it has a cap which means no more than 20 machines can be operated within the district.
Froude said councils sometimes focus on where the money is going in grants to community and sports groups,
‘‘rather than where the money is coming from, which is often from very high deprivation communities where people are being harmed.’’
She said there has been ‘‘a really unhealthy reliance on funding our community and sports groups from the proceeds of pokies’’.
‘‘It’s unethical, at the very least, and it’s certainly inequitable, and will often go to fund community and sports groups that could potentially raise funds other ways.’’
Overheads and costs associated with administering the system also take a portion of the funds.
‘‘You don’t need to be a mathematician to work out that a whole lot of money gets sucked into the running of the system.’’
Froude said the money granted to sports and community groups ‘‘won’t necessarily go back into the community it’s come from’’.
‘‘At the end of the day, when you’ve got that amount of money being lost in pokie machines that could be being spent in the community, it just it isn’t right.
‘‘There’s no amount of charity that makes up for the harm these machines cause.’’
The Government has a review of the rules relating to Class 4 gambling underway, Froude said.
Part of that will focus on host responsibility at venues, which Froude said needs to be improved.
‘‘They have to play their part. We need venues to step up, to identify people who are experiencing harm before they get to the point where they are at rock bottom, so that we, as treatment services, can support these people.
‘‘Clearly many people are falling through the cracks, and pokies in pubs, clubs and TABs are still the most harmful form of gambling in the country,’’ she said.