Pokies spend across region falls 6.2pc

DOWN: The number of gaming venues across the region fell from 18 to 15.PHOTO/FILE

The amount Wairarapa punters are spending on pokies is continuing to slide, dropping by more than twice the national average.

Latest figures from the Department of Internal Affairs show the amount Wairarapa gamblers dropped into pub and club pokies in the year to June fell 6.2 per cent from $7 million the previous year to $6.6 million, while spending dropped 2.5 per cent nationwide to $806.2 million.

Carterton recorded the biggest local drop in spending at 13.8 per cent, while South Wairarapa actually increased by 4.3 per cent.

The number of gaming venues across the region fell from 18 to 15, while the number of machines dropped from 234 to 208 year-on-year.

Nationally, venues declined from 1356 to 1321 and the number of gaming machines decreased from 17,534 to 17,130.

Problem Gambling Foundation marketing and communications director Andree Froude said it was "great" to see the numbers continuing to drop. "It reflects an increase in community awareness about the harm that pokies cause."

Pokies contributed overwhelmingly to problem gambling, with more than 70 per cent of those seeking help doing so because of the machines, she said.

But the decrease in expenditure would mean more community groups who relied on the grants would have to come up with more sustainable ways to fund themselves.

Figures also showed that spending by pokie gamblers in pubs and clubs rose in the first and second quarters of 2014, from $192.8 million to $200.7 million.

However, Internal Affairs said this was in line with annual trends between the first and second quarter of the calendar year.

The spending was captured through the electronic monitoring of non-casino gaming machines.

This enabled the department to ensure the integrity of games and the accurate accounting of money, it said.

APNZ