Across New Zealand, responsible gambling advocates have expressed concerns about gambling spending. They have worked together with local politicians to develop new ways to limit spending, which seem to be working. According to reports, pokie spending across New Zealand has dropped ye again.
Overall, spending on pokies located outside of casinos dropped by 2.5% over the course of the last year, from $826.3 million to $806.2 million. This is certainly impressive and it marks a significant improvement from the last time that pokie spending numbers were reported in May 2014.
At that time, statistics showed that the year from March 2013 to March 2014 saw a drop in pub and club pokie spending from 828.7% to 811.6%. It was a 2% drop, and was very encouraging. Since then, year-on-year pokie spending has continued to decline. Responsible gambling advocates attribute the decline to the sinking lid policies that have been passed across the country.
This policy prohibits new gaming venues from opening up in various cities. When a venue closes, the owner cannot sell its games. If the venue relocates, the owner cannot take the games with them. This has resulted in fewer license holders and gaming machines in New Zealand. Over the course of the past year, the number of license holders fell from 351 to 329 while the number of gaming pubs and clubs dropped from 1356 to 1321.
The number of games also fell from 17 534 to 17 130. The decline in pokie spending has been viewed positively by politicians and responsible gambling campaigners. They believe that this signifies a decrease in problem gambling rates; however, further research is needed to determine whether there is a correlation.
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