In New Zealand, politicians are standing firm behind a newly proposed Harm Reduction Bill. The legislation aims to reduce the social and financial harm that can be caused by pokies and, even though it has not been passed yet, it seems to be having a positive effect on the local gambling market. According to reports, pokie machine spending in New Zealand has dropped by 3%.
Pokie players across the country have spent $27 million less over the course of the last year, bringing the total amount of spending down from $866 million to $839 million. These statistics have been gathered by the Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) which was introduced to non-casino gaming venues in 2007.
In addition to tracking how much money players are spending of non-casino gaming machines, EMS also determines that the games are fair to players and that the venue pays the correct amount of taxes and winnings. Experts have not yet weighed in on the drop in gambling spending in New Zealand, but it is likely to be related to Te Ururoa Flavell’s proposed Harm Reduction Bill.
The bill, which aims to reduce the number of poker machines in the country, has not been passed but it has seemed to affect the public’s views of problem gambling. The fact that the issue of problem gambling has become so prevalent that a bill was proposed in order to deal with it has created awareness. More citizens are aware of the potential harms of gambling, and it is likely that they have taken the initiative to spend less on gaming.
The decline in the number of poker machines in New Zealand is also likely to have contributed. Over the course of the last year, the number of pokies in the country declined from 18,133 to 17,670. 29 pokie clubs and pubs have also shut their doors. If the Harm Reduction Bill is passed, we will see even further declines in the number of pokies and pokie venues over the course of the next few years.
As such, gambling spending will continue to fall.
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