In Western Bay, residents have spent less money on pokies in the last year than they had previously. These small decline is encouraging for responsible gambling lobbyists, but they are concerned that pokie spending will be on the rise again soon. From March 2013 to March 2014, the amount of money that players in Western Bay spent on pokies fell 1.6% from $33.6 million.
The area that experienced the biggest decline was Wider Western Bay of Plenty, which saw pokie spending fall by 5%. Tauranga’s spending fell by just 1. The drop is unlikely to be due to a decline in the number of poker machines or pokie venues, since little changed in this area. From 2013 to 2014, 51 venues have remained while the number of games actually increased from 707 to 717.
As such, it is likely that players had simply chosen to gamble more responsibly over the course of the year. While responsible gambling lobbyists were pleased about the drop in spending, their celebration was short-lived. Due to a new amendment, pokie clubs will be able to receive commission from their pokie profits.
Some groups are concerned that this will cause club owners to encourage players to gamble so that they can reap the financial benefits in the long term. It is hoped that safeguards will be employed so that the commission system cannot be abused. "Obviously we've got big concerns around the proposal. It could incentivise venues to encourage people to gamble,” says Andree Froude of the Problem Gambling Foundation.
On the plus side, the new law will also increase the amount of money that is returned to local community organisations. Instead of donating 37% of their pokie profits, club owners will be required to donate 42%.
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