Gamblers' spending continues slow slide | Northland News | Local News in Northland

Northlanders' spending on pokie machines is following the national trend of a slow and steady decline - but it's still tens of millions of dollars out of the pockets of people who can ill afford it, says the Problem Gambling Foundation.

According to figures from the Department of Internal Affairs, the region's total pokies' spend slipped to $32 million last year, down from just over $33 million in 2009.

The region's biggest pokie players are in the Far North, where the average spend per head is almost $270 a year. The average Whangarei resident spends under $200, while the Kaipara figure is about $142.

Foundation head Graeme Ramsey, of Bayleys Beach, said the national pokies' spend peaked in 2004 and had declined almost every year since.

That was not caused by the recession, as some claimed, because the nation's total spend on gambling was static.

Instead, Mr Ramsey believed the pokies were in decline because New Zealanders no longer regarded them as harmless entertainment.

More than 70 per cent of problem gamblers who came to the foundation for help had pokies as their primary form of gambling.

Mr Ramsey said he was pleased with the downwards trend, but "very disappointed" at a decision by the Far North District Council last year to ease its rules on pokies.

Despite a near record number of submissions calling for tighter restrictions, the council changed its bylaw to allow pokie machines to be moved to new venues and raised the cap on the maximum number allowed.

"In an area with the issues of poverty and deprivation the North has, it's particularly sad the council didn't take a harder line against the problems we see in the Far North."

It was no accident that the greatest concentrations of pokie machines were in New Zealand's poorest areas, he said.

While total pokies spend in the Kaipara had increased slightly in the past year, its per capita spend was one of the lowest in the country due to that council's genuine sinking lid policy.

Mr Ramsey said with pokies in decline and racing static, the form of gambling that had increased its share most was lotteries, driven by big jackpots and people's desperation in tough economic times.

Nationally, spending on gaming machines dropped three per cent, from $865.5 million in 2009 to $840.7 million last year.

The number of venues dropped from 1491 to 1443 and gaming machines from 19,359 to 18,681.

As at December 31, the number of pokies venues in the Far North was 30 (31 at the same time in 2009) and the number of machines 362 (380 in 2009). The figures for Whangarei are 24 venues and 325 machines (no change), and Kaipara 10 venues and 69 machines (no change).

GAMBLING BY NUMBERS

Annual spend on pokie machines 2010 (2009)

Far North$15,042,999 ($15,714,539)

Whangarei$14,437,659 ($14,893,686)

Kaipara$2,565,738 ($2,507,060)

Northland total$32,046,396 ($33,115,285)