Between 2020 and 2021, players in South Waikato collectively lost over $8 million to pokies, a situation that has created severely negative impacts on the area’s families.
These figures came to light when community members provided feedback to the South Waikato District Council regarding its Gambling Class 4 and TAB Venue Policy. In total, $8,057,439 across 160 class 4pokie machines was lost in the 2020-21 financial year.
A South Waikato woman, who asked to remain anonymous, described the impact of gambling on whānau as devastating.
“Growing up, both of my parents were gamblers and we knew that. They would always disappear to the pub to play the pokies. You don’t realise how impactful it is until you’re older and realise how abandoned you felt. It was really hard and lonely as a child when you have younger siblings who are wondering where their parents are or who is going to feed them,” she said.
“I’m a grown woman now and this issue has always existed here for us. It isn’t getting better, it has increasingly gotten worse over time. I’m sure pokies have economic benefits but it is devastating families here,” she continued.
Andree Froude, the Problem Gambling Foundation’s Communication Director expressed sympathy, stating that problem gambling is holistically detrimental to peoples’ lives.
“Harmful gambling has long tentacles – one person’s gambling can impact up to seven other people. Gambling can lead to job loss, relationship breakdowns, child neglect, and loss of homes, fraud and suicide. One of the most consistent findings is when children have a close family member with a gambling problem they are far more likely to develop problems themselves,” she explained.
A 2016 survey discovered that gambling harm was disproportionately represented in high deprivation areas.
An excerpt from the survey findings reads, “For those who gamble on pokies in pubs or clubs regularly, research shows that 49 per cent of participants experienced some gambling harm … Pacific and Māori peoples were also twice as likely to experience gambling harm.”
Public Testimony
The South Waikato District Council received 13 submissions as part of its public consultation process and ten of those who made the submissions are set to speak at the hearings on 5 May.
The district has also re-emphasised its commitment to its Sinking Lid policy, which has halted the issuing of any new licences for gambling activities in pubs and clubs while preventing existing ones from being shifted to different locations.
The South Waikato woman continued her statement, adding that she hopes for a future where her region is free from pokies, saying,
“I really hope that other whānau don’t experience harmful gambling. I also hope that one day, we don’t have to see these machines here. We’ve seen them for too long.
