Northlanders spent more than $8m on gaming machines in just three months, sinking further into debt. Photo / NZME
Sarah's at-times $1000-a-night gambling left her large family with little food, a four-figure power bill, and outstanding rent that forced them to move out of their Northland home.
The Whangārei mother is among hundreds of Northlanders who sink millions in pokie machines each year and plunge further into debt.
Figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs shows Northlanders spent $8.4m in gaming machines in the second quarter of this year, nearly $440,000 more than the first quarter.
While gaming machine profits increased in both quarters, the number of gaming machines and venues in Northland came down, implying that pokie players were spending more on their habit.
The number of gaming machines in Northland between April and June this year reduced from 630 to 623 while gaming venue numbers came down slightly, from 49 to 48, compared to the first quarter.
Gamblers in Whangārei spent $4.2m, Far North $3.5m, and Kaipara $715,485 in the second quarter.
In comparison, the figures in the first quarter were $3.8m, $3.5m, and $706,673 for Whangārei, Far North and Kaipara respectively.
Nga Manga Puriri Northland Problem Gambling Services acting manager Wini Frood said Sarah, not her real name, sought help with her gambling addiction about two years ago.
Her husband was a tradesman and she worked part-time but they couldn't get on top of their bills because of her addiction to pokie machines.
"Sometimes she'd spend $1000 a night on pokies after borrowing from family and friends while not paying any bills. Her power bill was a four-figure sum, rent unpaid for three months, and the family had little food.
"We helped her exclude herself from all pokie machine venues in Northland for two years," Frood said.
Sarah had been gambling for most of her life but her habit became a problem 18 months before she sought help.
The spiralling debts meant she and her family had to move to Auckland and lived in a caravan park for eight months before moving back to Northland.
But Frood said Sarah has not quit gambling entirely, showing just how hard it is to kick the addiction.
Nga Manga Puriri is seeing about 85 active clients in Northland every week who are problem gamblers.
"You can never tell what a problem gambler looks like. We have professionals walking through the door and most of them are embarrassed they can't control their addiction," Frood said.
Six pokie machine venues in Northland will be "pausing their pokies" for an hour during Gambling Harm Awareness Week from Monday to Sunday next week. They are Jimmy Jack's Rib Shack and Craft Bar on Bank St, Kensington Tavern, Pure Bar and Grill, The Judge House of Ale, and Tote and Poke Sports Bar, all in Whangārei, and North Kaitaia RSA.
They will be among more than 70 venues from Bluff to Kaitaia which have signed up for the initiative in recognition of the harm gambling does to families throughout the country.
Problem Gambling Foundation spokeswoman Andrēe Froude said much of the more than $33m Northlanders spent gambling in the 12 months to June this year came from those who could not afford it.
She said the latest New Zealand National Gambling Study showed that although participation in gambling has fallen, rates of problem gambling have not similarly reduced and gambling continued to impact heavily on Māori and Pacific people.
While councils' sinking lid policies helped reduce the number of pokie machines, she said it took a long time for that to happen and did not go far enough.
"Pokies are disproportionately situated in our poorer communities so those communities are being heavily impacted. The social cost of harmful gambling far outweighs any benefit derived from community funding and the money doesn't always go back into the community it came from.''
Froude said it would be better if pokies were made safer through pre-commitment and facial recognition technology so that gamblers could choose the amount and time spent on the machines before they started gambling.
Problem gamblers should seek help from the Salvation Army Oasis on 0800 530 000, through salvationarmy.org.nz, the Gambling Helpline on 0800 654 655 or gamblinghelpline.co.nz.
Payoff
Earnings from gambling machines in Northland between April to June this year
Whangārei $4,202,834
Far North $3,580,727
Kaipara $715,458
Number of approved venues and gaming machines in Northland at the end of June
Whangārei 19, 265
Far North 22, 298
Kaipara 7, 60