New Zealand Gambling Spending Expected to Increase

In New Zealand, health experts are concerned that gambling spending will continue to increase over the course of the next few years. Despite politicians’ efforts to reduce the potential harms of gambling, experts believe that Kiwis will continue to spend more money on betting, pokies and the lottery.

The experts believe that lottery spending will increase by 8% from now until 2016. The expansion of the local lottery has encouraged more players to spend more money on tickets for draws as well as instant win games, and that trend will continue in the future. The offer of bigger and better jackpots worth multimillions will also ensure that lottery spending continues to rise.

Casino gambling is another major concern, with the team of researchers expecting spending to increase by 2.3% from now until 2016. There is an increasing number of gambling opportunities for players, especially with the news that SkyCity Auckland will be receiving 230 new poker machines as part of its convention centre deal. This will result in an increase of 8% on the number of pokies in New Zealand casinos, which is expected to lead to a rise in gambling spending as well as problem gambling rates.

Auckland Researchers Conduct World’s Largest Problem Gambling Trial

In New Zealand, problem gambling rates are on the rise. Local researchers want to determine the best possible way to treat gambling addiction, so they are currently studying the epidemic. AUT University has recently published a study called ‘The Effectiveness of Problem Gambling Brief Telephone Interventions: A Randomised Controlled Trial’, which involved over 400 gambling addicts.

This is one of the first studies of its kind to involve real problem gamblers rather than volunteers. Problem gamblers who called into a local helpline were provided with one of four options, and the research team followed up with the individuals afterwards. The options were:

(1) the helpline standard treatment
(2) a single motivational interview
(3) a single motivational interview plus a cognitive behavioural self-help book
(4) the interview plus the workbook plus four follow-up motivational telephone interviews

While the research team expected the recipients of the more intensive treatment to fare better, all participants experienced similar results. According to Professor Max Abbott, who lead the study, all forms of problem gambling intervention are effective.

So, the key is for problem gamblers to seek help. With some assistance, they can overcome their issues – but they have to be presented with treatment options from friends, family members or even casino staff.

Winston Peters Called Auckland a ‘City of Sin’

NZ First leader Winston Peters is outraged at the leniency that New Zealand politicians are exercising with regards to gambling laws in Auckland. Last week, he made a speech condemning the city for its relaxing gambling laws and the new potential for crime in the city.

Peters stood before Grey Power, and spoke out against Sky City’s new deal with China Southern Airlines. The deal will fast-track the visa process for high roller casino players, and Peters believes that will encourage more crime. It is likely that it will make it easier for criminals to launder money and conduct other illegal business at SkyCity.

He is also outraged that a 15-storey brothel will be opening up across the street from the casino. He believes that the new venue, combined with the lenient visa laws, will make it easier for human trafficking and other sex crimes to take place.

“What is really happening to Auckland?” Peters asks. “The seven deadly sins are apparently alive and well here”.

Residents are also upset about the new developments but few other politicians have spoken out. It is a worrying state of affairs, but it seems that locals can only hope for the best at this point.

Final Sky City Convention Centre Deal Angers Locals

Sky City and Premier John Key have finally come to a settlement with regards to the terms of their convention centre deal. In return for Sky City spending $402 million to build Auckland’s new convention centre, the casino operator will be granted permission to install nearly 300 new games and will have its license extended.

The deal will go ahead as planned, even though the Auditor General confirmed that the deal was not entirely fair to other bidders. After the Auditor General weighed in, local residents requested that the deal be abandoned – but neither party would be deterred. Now, they have settled on a final plan – and residents are still incensed.

Sky City will spend $315 million on the construction of the centre and $87 million on land costs. In return, the casino will receive 230 new pokies and 40 new table games. The casino’s license will also be extended from 2021 to 2042.

“Sky City has been given preferential treatment from whoa to go and the Government has even bent the immigration visa rules to deliver rich gamblers to the casino,” says Rt Hon Winston Peters. “We can see little good coming from this shabby, seedy, money grubbing deal”.

It is likely that residents will protest the deal. Kiwis are not at all impressed with the terms of the deal, and they will fight to ensure that it does not go forward.

New Zealand Gambling Spending Falls

In New Zealand, gambling spending is on the decline. According to statistics released by the Department of Internal Affairs, Kiwis spent 4% less on gambling than they had in the previous year. Local responsible gambling advocates have taken this to mean that residents are becoming more aware of the potential harms of gambling.

As a result of the fall in spending, several other gambling-related numbers have taken a dive. For example, the number of gaming license holders has fallen to 353 from 359 in 2012. The total number of pokies has also declined. In 2012, there were 18 001 pokies; now, there are just 17 542.

While a decline in spending may be negative for gaming clubs and the gambling industry as a whole, it is positive thing for local residents. Over the course of the past few years, gambling addiction numbers have climbed to an all-time high in New Zealand. Local politicians have been working hard to reduce problem gambling rates, and their efforts are paying off.

The introduction of MP Te Ururoa Flavell’s Harm Reduction Bill seems to have alerted locals to the harms of gambling. The bill has received a great deal of media attention, and it is likely to have discouraged some punters from wagering on pokies in the past year.

Pre-Commitment Proposed for Harm Reduction Bill

MP Te Ururoa Flavell has introduced a number of new provisions to his Harm Reduction Bill. After garnering a great deal of support for the legislation, he has decided that several new responsible gambling methods would benefit the community by reducing problem gambling rates.

Flavell seems to have taken some inspiration from Australia’s federal government. This week, he proposed that pre-commitment and tracking technology is installed on all poker machines in clubs and pubs across the country. Players would be given pre-commitment cards, which would require them to set their own betting limits before they wager. The tracking systems would then ensure that they do not exceed these limits.

According to recent studies, pre-commitment seems to be an effective method to reducing problem gambling. Although it has not been put into practice yet, Australian politicians believe that players will be less likely to exhibit compulsive gambling behaviour when they set their own betting limits.

This is just one of many new provisions that Flavell has introduced. He has also proposed that 80% of pokie profits be returned to the community from which they game via grants. This would ensure that the areas that require problem gambling assistance the most obtain the funding for counselling and aid that they truly need.

Auditor General Clarifies SkyCity Report

This week, Auditor General Phillippa Smith came forward to offer some clarification about her report concerning the SkyCity convention centre deal. She initially reported that neither the casino operator nor the local government acted inappropriately – and Prime Minister John Key announced that the report vindicated the deal. Unfortunately for him, this was not the case.

The Auditor General’s assistance was requested by the Greens in 2012. The political party felt that the deal (which would see SkyCity build the $350 million convention centre in return for 500 new pokies) was not entirely above board, and Phillippa Smith was brought in to investigate the deal.

She determined that SkyCity had been given an unfair advantage, especially since the casino operator was the government’s last choice. However, the group was willing to pay for all of the construction costs for the convention centre, so the government worked with SkyCity to improve its proposal. Although John Key claims that these findings vindicate the deal, Smith states otherwise.

As such, The Greens and other political groups feel that the tender process should be repeated. Many other groups were interested in building the convention centre, and they feel that they should be given a fair chance to bid on the project.

DIA Investigates Pokie Fraud

Three pokie trusts and several racing industry professionals are currently under investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs. They have been suspected of collaborating to fraudulently award pokie grants to ineligible organizations and individuals.

The three organizations that have been suspected of fraud are: New Zealand Community Trust, Infinity Trust and Bluegrass Trust. These groups have allegedly manipulated pokie grant applications, committing fraud worth $30 million in grants. At the centre of the scandal is racing trainer Mike O’Brien. It is believed that he worked together with the trusts in order to secure funds for himself and his clubs.

The Department of Internal Affairs has assigned 50 staff members to the case, and has issued 10 search warrants. O’Brien’s home and hotel room were the first locations to receive warrants, and his father’s home will also be searched. Warrants were also issue for pokie trust offices and the homes of pokie trust employees.

This is not the first time that local pokie trusts have been in trouble for misappropriating funds. This has happened many times before, with Bluegrass Trust and Infinity Trust both involved in previous scandals. It seems that there is a serious need to tighten up monitoring for New Zealand’s pokie trusts.

BNZ Closes SkyCity Branch

After coming under fire from responsible gambling advocates many times, SkyCity’s Bank of New Zealand location has finally closed. Neither the casino operator nor BNZ has provided any specifics on why this has been the case – but we imagine it is likely due to the number of scandals in which the bank has been involved.

Last year, Herminia Lanuza stole more than $2 million from her employer using the BNZ branch. She then gambled the money away at SkyCity VIP room. Accountant Richard Watson was also involved in a scandal with BNZ, using the bank to steal $5.5 million in order to fund his problem gambling habit.

The bank’s location and opening hours (14 hours a day) was not believed to be entirely responsible. During a time when politicians want to remove ATMs from gambling venues, it seems that a casino-based bank was not conducive to promoting New Zealand’s new harm reduction strategies. At any time, a problem gambler could not only withdraw money but also cash cheques and conduct other banking.

“Banks and ATMs close to where people gamble are not a good idea,” says Problem Gambling Foundation chief executive Graeme Ramsey.

It seems like a wise move for both SkyCity and BNZ. The bank will be relocating the new future, but has yet to announce where its new branch will be.

SkyCity Auckland Player Faces Fines for Cheating

In casinos, millions of dollars are passed from player to player on a daily basis. So, it is no wonder that some casino staff and players feel the urge to take more than their fair share. Fortunately, New Zealand casino operators like Sky City are equipped with the sophisticated technology required to catch cheaters and their accomplices.

These sophisticated systems threw a wrench in the plans of Bo Du, a casino dealer that had worked at SkyCity for more than six years. She was only allowed to scam $50 000 from the casino by the time the casino operator discovered that she had been accepting cash gifts from patrons in return for manipulating the outcome of roulette games. She ensured that the ball dropped just before the betting ended, allowing her accomplices to wager on the correct outcome.

It did not take long before management discovered the operation. Du and several casino patrons were apprehended for their crimes. The former casino dealer was placed on house arrest and has been ordered to pay SkyCity $20 000 in damages. She has also been blacklisted from working at any other casino venue in the world. The penalties that the patrons received have yet to be announced.