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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:10 am Post subject: Gambling Research/News New Zealand
City urged to ban all pokies from pubs
21.09.2006
By John Cousins
A daily procession of people whose lives have been wrecked by pokie Machines has convinced Tauranga's gambling addiction counsellor that they should be banned from bars.
Margaret Sloan said the depths to which addicts go to feed the machines meant she would love to see Tauranga City Council lead the country and outlaw pokies from everywhere except casinos.
The council today began a review of the gambling venues bylaw, which currently sets the total number of pokies allowed in Tauranga bars and clubs to one machine for every 147 residents - meaning the city could theoretically have 714 machines.
Tauranga is near the top of New Zealand's 73 cities and districts for the number of people per head of population seeking help from Gambling Helpline.
The 110 Tauranga gamblers who rang Helpline last year meant the city ranked sixth behind Invercargill, Christchurch, Nelson, Waitakere and Wellington.
The figure dips to below the national average for those receiving face-to-face counselling from Ms Sloan, of the Problem Gambling Foundation.
"There are far too many pokies in Tauranga. I would rather see them in places like a casino where there is a more controlled atmosphere, rather than in every street corner bar," Ms Sloan said.
Her opposition was based on the constant stream of problem gamblers whose lives, she said, were nearly always in tatters from the lure of glittering machines programmed to pay out less than they received.
Banning smoking from public places had seen numbers seeking help drop by about a third but they had slowly climbed back up. Her eight new clients so far this month was higher than normal.
Ms Sloan had about 20 clients on her books at any one time and generally held six one-hour sessions with each gambler.
She said it was an absolute pity that people could not nip the problem in the bud before they reached rock bottom.
"Things are pretty serious by the time they come to see me."
Gamblers she saw were often close to separating from their partners and in trouble with the law from trying to obtain ever larger amounts of money.
"Asking for help is the hardest thing a gambler can do. There is a lot of shame and stigma - no one likes to think it has got the better of them. "It is only when they realise they can't deal with it that they ask for help."
Ms Sloan is employed three days a week on counselling and would like to see more emphasis on community health promotion of problem gambling.
The good news was that she had about an 80-90 per cent success rate.
Ms Sloan said it was hard to know what the big picture was for problem gambling in Tauranga: "We only see those who have reached a critical point in their lives."
Today's council forum will decide how much information on the social impact of gambling should be gathered prior to the review of the bylaw.
Tauranga's 640 machines at June 30 last year meant it ranked 33rd in terms of numbers of machines per 10,000 population from New Zealand's 73 councils. Tauranga pubs and clubs licensed before October 2001 were allowed up to 18 pokies while all other premises were allowed nine.
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