Connecticut’s fast-growing gambling scene will soon welcome a vital new development, according to a recent announcement by Gov. Ned Lamont. The official shared that Evolution Gaming has soft-launched its new live studio in the state, with a full launch scheduled for July 18.

The new studio is located in Fairfield and offers live dealer content.

Lamont announced the launch in a news release, saying,

“With the addition of Evolution, we are continuing to provide a modern, technologically advanced gaming experience that provides an elevated user experience for eligible residents and is competitive with our neighbouring states. Connecticut has proven to be a leader when it comes to the gaming economy going back decades, and this expansion allows those who want to participate to continue doing so, responsibly.”

The release also stated that the studio already has a staff complement of 140 workers. Once fully staffed, it will employ 400 workers. The construction of the studio was necessitated by state law that requires a company to run a physical facility in Connecticut if it wants to offer live dealer games.

Top Selection

Evolution’s live dealer options are limited to blackjack and roulette during the one-week soft launch. Once the full launch happens, the provider will offer a full suite of live dealer games available on Connecticut’s FanDuel Casino and DraftKings apps.

DraftKings Casino recently shared that it would offer Bragg Gaming content in Connecticut, allowing players to enjoy Bragg’s Spin Games RGS (remote game server) games, including 21 + 3 Progressive Blackjack and Ripley’s Big Wheel.

Connecticut is among six US states that offer regulated iGaming options. The state launched its regulated environment in October 2021, joining West Virginia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. All of the states mentioned have also legalized online poker.

Data made available by Kiwibank and other sources reveal that the financial institution’s customers are spending close to $30 million every month on online gambling sites.

This information has emerged as the country’s Department of Internal Affairs is engaged in an ongoing review to regulate online gambling that is currently in its third year.

Julia Jackson, Kiwibank’s head of purpose and sustainability said,

“When we look at our own customers, what we see is there is about $30 million a month that’s being spent on online gambling and 80 percent of that is offshore. It really is [an incredible amount] and what’s a really interesting trend that we’ve seen is from the first COVID lockdown in 2020, that number has massively increased and it hasn’t gone down.”

The offshore sites mentioned are largely based in territories like Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Estonia, and Lithuania, which are ideal environments for companies seeking low taxes and the ideal region to offer internet gambling to the world.

Kiwibank offers a voluntary exclusion system, where customers can choose to block themselves from using their accounts to play on offshore sites. Over $7.1 million has been saved by users of this block since its introduction.

 Long-Running Review

While Kiwibank implements harm-minimisation measures, the government has drawn criticism for not demonstrating a similar sense of urgency.

Its review into online gambling was launched in July 2019 and public submissions were completed by mid-2020. With no final report announced, Internal Affairs has advised that the review is “ongoing and we are expecting Cabinet to consider options later this year”.

Maria Bellringer, a gambling addiction researcher at Auckland University of Technology pointed to other countries’ practice of only allowing players access to reputable sites.

“I’m well aware of the consultation that went on in 2019 and I was very surprised that nothing came of it to date and disappointed,” she commented.

“Something needs to be done, I think a lot of people don’t realise what they’re getting into with online gambling. Online gambling is a high-risk factor for developing problem gambling,” she continued.

The author of the official cabinet paper on the matter, former Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin stated that this is a controversial issue and that former Racing Minister Winston Peters had blocked its progress before the 2020 election.

“It was a meeting in his office, with his staff, where he explained that the timing was probably not the best,” said “That paper never found its way to Cabinet,” she said in an interview.

New Zealand’s Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) recently reported that the country’s gambling industry has experienced positive results from the fiscal year. The department revealed a 17% year-on-year increase in gambling spend over the past year.

This rise in revenue is good news for the country as it means more money for the government and positive effects on the economy.

The DIA specified that the fiscal year 2020-21 saw national gambling spending of$2.63 billion, a 17% increase from the previous year and a five-year high for the nation.

Pokie Power

A large chunk of this intake is generated by pokies outside of area casinos. The Class 4 operations segment that encompasses clubs and bars increased its takings by 23% to $987 million. The TAB racing and sports betting segment also experienced improvement with its 1% increase resulting in $385 million.

Lotto products in the country took in $694 million, 10% more than the year before while casinos reported an overall increase of 11% with $559 million in revenue.

Mitigating Harm

The Problem Gambling Foundation Spokesperson, Andree Froude has framed this increase as problematic, saying that the average gambling spend per adult 18 years old or older comes to $662 a year, diverting money away from other more essential purchases.

The DIA has thrown its weight behind politicians calling for an overhaul of pokie legislation amid rising concerns that they pose a threat to society. This has not yet prompted the government to take more decisive action and direct more resources toward reviewing the current situation.

The DIA also recently initiated a review into gambling harm and how it could negatively affect the legal market. To this end, the government has requested feedback from public consultations regarding pokies, allowing consumers to weigh in on and potentially influence the matter. These consultations will launch on March 17 and run until April 28.

Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti recently proclaimed that a review of Class 4 gambling machine regulations for harm minimisation will greatly benefit vulnerable communities.

The review is currently proceeding and seeks to diminish the amount of gambling harm experienced by some pokies users and the people they are close to.

Tinetti, who doubles as Labour’s List MP for Tauranga said,

“Pokies are known to be the most harmful form of land-based gambling in Aotearoa, and this review will target ways to reduce harm experienced by people who use pokies and those close to them. Harmful pokies gambling accounts for the majority of referrals to gambling treatment providers and for much of the second-hand gambling harm experienced by a gambler’s whānau and friends.”

According to data from the 2020 Health and Lifestyles Survey, close to 10% of New Zealanders play pokies and one in five of them can be classified as at-risk from gambling harm.

“The review will bring greater clarity around what venues need to recognise and manage at-risk gamblers, how pokie machine features can assist, and enforcement tools for non-compliance with gambling harm minimisation rules,” Tinetti continued.

Venue staff will be provided with tools and training to help them identify problematic gambling behaviour, and changes to certain machine features are planned, with the intent of discouraging continuous, harmful gambling.

Tinetti pointed out that gambling harm appears to be more prevalent among those in the least stable financial positions and who are likely experiencing significant life challenges. He mentioned the Māori and Pacific communities where gambling has led to debt, but financial hardship, family violence, and other social ills.

“We encourage any community or individual who wishes to get involved with the review to have their say, by providing feedback and ideas on the proposed changes. We have the chance to create serious change. Feedback from public consultation in addition to harm treatment providers, societies and gambling venues will help us create regulations informed by gamblers, their whānau and friends, and people who work with those experiencing harm,” the minister concluded.

The public consultation was launched on March 17 2022 and has a planned six-week run. Anyone interested in reading the public discussion document has been invited to head over to www.dia.govt.nz/reducingpokiesharm. The text has been made available as quick-read versions and in several languages.

If all goes according to Tinetti’s plans, a series of targeted harm minimisation regulations for pokies will be implemented by the first half of 2023.

New Zealand’s problem gambling levy budget looks set to receive a 26% increase ($16 million) over the next three years if a proposal by the country’s Ministry of Health is successful.

Once approved, the revised budget proposed by the Ministry would provide $76.12 million to the levy, an increase from the $60.24 million budget for 2019-2022. The budget increase would allow for the implementation of a de-stigmatization strategy alongside culture-specific programs for Asian, Pasifika, and Māori communities.

Half of this increase would be provided by the Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand’s (GMANZ) collected profits. While GMANZ is one of four contributors to the levy and fully supports any necessary increases, the association has recently questioned the effectiveness of the levy, with new statistics indicating that more needs to be done.

GMANZ’s director, Peter Thrush argued that the percentage of problem gamblers in the country has remained steady at 0.2% for the past 25 years, suggesting that the levy itself is not producing the results that it is supposed to.

Problematic Trends

While the latter part of 2020 saw an uptick in gambling spending, fewer than  65 000 people sought out problem gambling treatment provided by ministry-funded services over 2020-2021. Considering that as many as 92 000 people were estimated to be suffering from mild to severe forms of gambling harm, this number falls far below ideal levels.

Reports indicate that as many as 230 000 adults in New Zealand have experienced at least one form of gambling harm within their household over the past year. Over 4,300 families have been recorded as receiving treatment for problems linked to an individual’s gambling.

Andree Froude, speaking on behalf of the Problem Gambling Foundation, offered an alternative perspective, stating that the 0.2% figure is only representative of the most severely addicted gamblers in the country, while the actual number of adults dealing with problem gambling at any level is much higher and harder to quantify.

Thrush stated that the association is more than willing to no increase its contribution by $8 million and agrees that pokies should fund the levy more than lotteries, casinos, and other forms of gambling. He did add that the contribution increase would have to produce better results as GMANZ is of the current opinion that the money is “disappearing”.

Pokies currently share 1.3% of their profits towards the levy’s budget, while Lotteries, widely accepted as the most benign form of gambling, are only contributing 0.4%.

The walls have eyes

Thrush went on to state that the ministry should dedicate a portion of the levy’s funds to the installation of facial recognition systems in bars and other gaming machine venues. This $6 million investment would allow for the tracking of problem gamblers and self-excluded players, and the prevention of further harm.

He added that some marketing campaigns created by recipients of the levy have drawn criticism for their stigmatization player and that while the ministry does have a new proposal on the table, in his opinion,  it would be “more of the same”.