Covid 19 coronavirus: Punters move online as Lotto, SkyCity report increased activity in lockdown

By RNZ

More New Zealanders are logging into online lotto and gambling sites during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Physical premises have been shut to customers, however, people have still been able to access services from computers, mobiles and tablets.

Lotto New Zealand said overall sales were at about 60 per cent of what it normally experienced because of the store closures.

"We expected to see a significant drop in sales during the lockdown, as we would normally see around 75 per cent of our sales come from retail stores, and 25 per cent online," it said.

However, it said about 125,000 customers had registered with MyLotto online, which had resulted in a more than doubling of online sales.

Meanwhile, casino operator SkyCity said its online offering had been trading strongly over the past two months.

It now had more than 15,000 registered users on the site.

Data from the Health Promotion Agency showed most people are gambling less, or about the same.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

The report revealed:

* Most respondents who gamble report gambling less, or the same amount as they usually would, during lockdown. Gamblers who report gambling less online say this is due to financial reasons.

* 9 per cent report increasing their gambling since lockdown. A higher proportion of Māori gamblers (15 per cent) and young gamblers aged 18-24 years (22 per cent) report increased gambling during lockdown.

* 8 per cent of gamblers have gambled online for the first time since lockdown and an additional 12 per cent are gambling online more than usual since lockdown.

* The most common reason for increased levels of online gambling during lockdown is because people are not able to go to their usual places to gamble.