As we continue to tally the amount of cash Australians from varying parts of the country spend on pokies, it seems that the total continues to grow and grow. It was recently revealed that the highest daily average was more than $1000/day, however that total has been topped by individuals from Northland, who spend over $80 000 per day on the machines.
International Affairs released figures that reveal that over the course of the past 3 months, adults in the area have spent $8,114,631 pokies in over 60 gambling venues across the area. These astounding numbers indicate that the activity of gambling may be more than recreational in Northland.
Spending this much money on poker machines in such a short amount of time is certainly cause for concern. Half of the people in area who are seeking help for gambling addictions are women, a shocking statistic, as women are not commonly associated with problem gambling. Addtionally, the majority of the women seeking help are of Maori descent.
According to statistics, over 6000 sought help for pokies addiction last year. 48% of that total were women, and 32% were of Maori descent. So, it seems that the problem extends beyond the availability of poker machines and is, instead, a community problem. Many community programs have been put in place to help those suffering from gambling addictions, and they have seen a great response so far.
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