Problem Gambling Foundation marketing and communications director Andree Froude.
Problem Gambling Foundation marketing and communications director Andree Froude.
Funding sports and community groups from money lost to pokie machines is a broken system and the social harm caused from problem gambling is worst in high deprivation areas like Horowhenua.
That's the view of Problem Gambling Foundation marketing and communications director Andree Froude, who said the current model of funding those groups with pokie profits had created a culture of reliance.
Pokie Machines were owned by different gaming trusts and societies that collected Gaming Machine Profits (GMP) of $10,223,153 from 139 machines in Horowhenua for the year ending June 2021.
GMP was the amount wagered, less the amount paid back in winnings.
Froude said it was estimated that between 30-60 per cent of GMP came from the pockets of problem gamblers and people who could least afford to lose.
More than half of electronic gaming machine venues were located in areas with high deprivation, like Horowhenua, she said.
More than half of New Zealand's electronic gaming machine venues were located in areas with high deprivation.
"We really want to see them out of these poorer communities. It's just not right. They are being disproportionately impacted. It's unethical and inequitable," she said.
"It also has a significant impact on Māori and Pasifika communities that tend to live in those areas."
Froude said it was a system where often community groups receive funding from pokies and the money was often coming from the very communities they were trying to support.
"We acknowledge that these are genuine and worthwhile causes but essentially we are funding these from the poorest people in New Zealand and we really need to see that change," she said.
"In our view there is no amount of funding that makes up for the damage these machines cause."
She said problem gambling could lead to financial problems, employment issues, relationship breakdowns, poor parenting, poverty, poor mental health and even suicide.
Froude said the amount of GMP from electronic poker machines continued to grow in New Zealand. The last recorded quarterly profit was $260,617,914, a trend that could soon see the annual figure top $1 billion.
Pokie machines were a highly addictive form of gambling and could raise dopamine levels in the brain that could be likened to effects of using a Class A drug like cocaine, she said.
"That's why people are often addicted. The bells and whistles going off play havoc with the reward centres of the brain," she said.
Problem Gambling Foundation marketing and communications director Andree Froude.
Pokie machine venues were often dimly and separated areas while the machines themselves emit bright lights and sounds that took people away from reality.
"They are often a form of escapism," she said.
Gaming trusts and societies were required to distribute no less than 40 per cent of their pokie proceeds each year, excluding GST.
In 2019, when GMP in Horowhenua was $9.4 million, the figure distributed to community groups and sports organisations in the region for the same period was $782,000.
A small percentage of GMP goes toward the problem gambling that funds support services and research into harmful gambling.
Froude said she supported efforts to curb the number of pokie machines by not allowing any new licences to be issued, but said it didn't go far enough.
She said any sinking lid policies should use a heavier lid, where venues shouldn't be allowed to relocate or merge under any circumstances.
