Pokie machines venues in South Auckland made more than $26 million in profits in the final quarter of 2020, the latest figures from the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) show.
Figures released last year showed over half the people in Auckland seeking treatment for gambling addictions are from South Auckland and just over half of those seeking help are gaming machine users. Photo: BRUCE MERCER/STUFF
This was up by 20 percent on the $21,866,959 in the third quarter of last year. The figures are broken down by local board areas of South Auckland, including Franklin, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu, Manurewa, Ōtara-Papatoetoe, and Papakura.
Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Froude said the latest statistics from DIA were not a surprise.
"In the fourth quarter of last year gaming machine profits ($252 million) nationally were the highest they've ever been since records started," Froude said.
"The fact 50 percent of our pokie machine venues are in our poorest areas, like South Auckland, means the figures aren't a total surprise, but they are concerning."
The figures also showed that after a drop in the second quarter due to the Covid-19 lockdown, many people had returned to their old habits, she said.
People often used pokies as a means of escape from stress and other factors in their lives and not just to gamble, Froude said.
"And last year was a tough year for a lot of people."
In October, the Auckland Council voted to retain its sinking lid policy for pokie machines in the region.
The policy means no new consents are issued for new venues and it prevents the machines from one club being transferred to another if it closes, helping to reduce the overall number of machines.
The majority of the venues continue to be located in high-deprivation areas like South Auckland.
Froude said while sinking lid policies for pokie machines were a good way to minimise harm and keep a check on the numbers of machines and venues, they took a long time to work because they relied on venues closing.
In areas like South Auckland, there were still pokie machine venues everywhere, he said.
"I think the whole community funding system which relies on money from pokies is also a problem and relies on money coming from our poorest communities. And, of course, the money doesn't always go back to the communities it comes from."
The Gambling Act, which helped regulate the industry, was almost 20 years old and no longer fit for purpose, Froude said.
"We would like to see councils have more power over whether they want to have pokie machines in their communities, because they review the venues every three years and I think they are starting to recognise that.
"A lot of communities don't want them and there's more recognition of the harm they cause."
A report to the council's Regulatory Committee in October last year illustrated the sheer scale of problem gambling in South Auckland.
According to the council paper, more than half of the people in Auckland seeking treatment for pokie machine gambling addictions were from South Auckland and just more than half of those seeking help were gaming machine users.
A 2017 Ministry of Health study found individual gambling produced the same level of harm as high alcohol consumption, anxiety and depression.
It found the cumulative harm of gambling was close to twice that of drug use disorders, bipolar affective disorder, eating disorders and schizophrenia combined.
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