Across the country, it is becoming apparent that gambling addiction is big problem among residents. As such, local politicians in Palmerston are considering the possibility of removing poker machines in order to curb problem gambling rates. A committee was recently assembled to determine the viability of the idea – and some surprising results were uncovered.
Navid Foroutan of the NZ Problem Gambling Foundation has urged local politicians to lower its sinking lid policy cap from 430 pokies in the area to 400. As in many other cities across new Zealand, the lowering of the sinking lid policy cap is meant to reduce the rates of problem gambling.
However, the committee discovered that the public does not back the idea. While some believe that a sinking lid policy would be helpful, the vast majority believe that it would not be effective enough to truly treat gambling addiction problems in the area.
It seems that locals want to maintain the number of poker machines while searching for other ways to deal with problem gambling. Some submissions to the committee were from actual problem gamblers who would like to see more education and counselling programs made available, which would get to the root of the problem gambling issue.
