Across New Zealand, there are plenty of services available to aid problem gamblers. Every year, they receive funding from the local government but the Problem Gambling Foundation’s loss of funding has shaken things up.
Now, some problem gambling services have receive significantly more money for the 2013-14 year while others have lost their funding completely as the focus shifts to problem gamblers of Pacific and Maori descent. Odyssey House is one of several gambling providers that has lost its funding after the local government announced that it will no longer fund the Problem Gambling Foundation.
Instead, all problem gambling resources will be allocated to the Salvation Army, which will take over all counselling and support services for problem gamblers across the country. Beginning in July 2014, the organisation will no longer receive funding from the government for its problem gambling programs. The gambling specialists at Odyssey House will have their responsibilities absorbed into other roles.
Philip Grady, head of the organisation, says that Odyssey House will continue to operate problem gambling support services and hopes to obtain funding by partnering with another counselling provider. One of the big winners is the Auckland Community Alcohol and Drugs Service (CADS), which caters to Pacific at-risk and problem gamblers.
The organisation has received a significant boost in funding, as local politicians take note of the fact that individuals of Maori and Pacific descent are more likely to become addicted to gambling and experience harm due to the compulsive gambling of their loved ones. There are certainly big changes afoot as the New Zealand government reallocates its problem gambling resources.
Experts are still unsure of the impact that it will have on the local gambling addiction rates, but it is hoped that we will see fewer individuals exhibiting compulsive gambling behaviour.
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