Auckland City Council member Josephine Bartley is leading an initiative to reform the laws governing electronic gaming machines, commonly known as “pokies,” within New Zealand. Bartley contends that regional authorities are restricted by the existing legislation, the 2003 Gambling Act, and require greater power to tackle the harm inflicted by compulsive gambling within their areas.
Her worries originate from the clustering of pokies in less affluent districts, especially in South Auckland where she was raised. A 2020 study from the Auckland Council showed that more than 50% of those seeking assistance for pokie dependency in the area were from South Auckland. Bartley maintains that tighter regulations on the placement and quantity of machines are essential to safeguard at-risk populations.
Presently, Auckland functions under a “sinking lid” approach, meaning no new permits for pokie machines are issued, and current permits cannot be relocated if a venue shuts down. Although this policy, implemented in 2020, halts the growth of pokie sites, detractors like Andree Froude from the Problem Gambling Foundation assert that it does little to diminish the total number of devices in operation. Froude emphasizes the dissatisfaction experienced by numerous councils, who feel incapable of effectively addressing the prevalence of pokies within their territories.
Local authorities require greater agency to eliminate the most detrimental gaming devices from our neighborhoods,” stated Home Secretary Jan Tinetti, reflecting the escalating worry regarding the availability of slot machines, especially their prevalence in at-risk areas like South Auckland. Her remarks arrive amidst a request for a thorough examination of the existing gaming regulations, seeking to lessen the broader negative consequences linked to gambling. This follows apprehensions voiced previously this week by gambling harm minimization proponents concerning a Christchurch gaming establishment’s initiative to introduce a web-based platform headquartered in Malta.