Dunedin City Council meets this week to debate the place of pokie machines in society. Charmian Smith looks beyond the flashing lights to some of the deeper issues.
It's dark in the pokie parlour, but for the bright, garish screens of the machines.
It is quiet too, with the exception of the occasional encouraging electronic burble.
People playing the machines lean forward, concentrating on the rolling pictures on the screen as they push the buttons repeatedly.
They can place a bet every three or four seconds on these machines.
There's no sense of time or of the outside world here, as any windows are blacked out.
For the record, it is not yet lunchtime.
The scene is typical of many of the 49, class-4 non-casino gaming venues in Dunedin.
Together, they account for 605 gaming machines, spread across pubs, clubs, and sports venues - places whose primary activity is entertainment, recreation, or leisure.
These machines, commonly known as pokies, are just one of the many ways to gamble in New Zealand.
Others include buying a Lotto ticket, scratchie or raffle ticket, playing at casino tables, or betting on the internet.
In these types of gambling the odds are always against you.
In other forms, such as betting on horse races or the sharemarket, if you put in the effort to research and understand the system, the horses or companies, you can raise the odds.
But pokies are in a league of their own, according to Thomas Moore, of the Problem Gambling Foundation's (PGF) Dunedin branch.
"With pokie machines the attraction is undoubtedly an escape from reality, whereas with casino tables, track betting and sports betting it's excitement.
"They are two quite different threads and it's most common that gamblers don't mix them," he says.
According to Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) figures, only 15% of the adult population play pokies but player losses account for about $1 billion, half the total amount lost in gambling in New Zealand each year.
About 20% of regular gaming-machine players are likely to have a gambling problem and about 85% of gambling helpline callers are pokie players.
The whole issue of gambling, especially pokie-machine gambling, is vexed.
"These gaming machines exist primarily to raise money for community purposes," Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy was reported as saying in Gambit late last year, the department's newsletter on gambling affairs.
The trusts and societies that own and operate the machines are required to distribute a little more than third of the profit they make (about $300 million last year) to charitable groups, non-commercial purposes beneficial to the community, or to "promoting, controlling, and conducting race meetings under the Racing Act 2003, including the payment of stakes", depending on their constitution or trust deed.
About another third goes to the Government as a tax, and the remainder to the societies and venues for the costs associated with operating the machines.
So, about one dollar in three lost on the machines goes back to the community.
On the other side of the ledger is the heavy cost of gambling both to individuals and to the community.
There are few benefits for individual players, apart perhaps from a brief escape from reality and an apprehensive flutter, almost always followed by a feeling of physical and emotional depletion the following day, according to Mr Moore.
A progression of problems is associated with gambling, from heavy gamblers who gamble often and with large amounts, to pathological gamblers who have probably lost everything and find themselves deep in debt or even in court for stealing money to fund their gambling addiction.
It is estimated that problem gamblers account for 40% to 60% of all losses ($400 million to $600 million every year), according to the Problem Gambling Foundation.
Beyond the problem gamblers themselves are their families, friends and others who may also be affected.
Only last month there was a case in Hawkes Bay where a firm had to close, making people redundant, because one of its employees had been embezzling money to pay for a gambling addiction.
Besides family dysfunction, bankruptcy and criminal offending, problem gambling is also associated with high rates of other mental-health concerns, in particular depression, anxiety, suicide, and substance abuse.
Mr Moore says pokies are the most addictive form of gambling.
Regular pokie players are at a high risk of running into problems, he says.
The peril is not limited to a small number of people with a pathological problem, as the gambling industry likes to think.
"Large numbers of people who have never had a gambling issue or any other lack of impulse-control behaviours in their whole life, get them around pokie machines in a relatively short period of time, including well into middle and old age.
"It says to me that pokie machines threaten normal psychological balances," he says.
The average time most people spend playing pokies is 15 minutes but problem gamblers can spend hours, he says.
These sorts of issues will confront the Dunedin City Council when it meets this week to review its policy on gaming machines.
It will have to decide whether to retain its present policy, which places no restriction on the number of electronic gaming machines in the city, though bans new venues in residential areas, or whether to cap the number, or adopt a sinking-lid policy.
Public interest is high, with about 800 submissions lodged.
But, according to council liquor licensing and project officer Kevin Mechen, who drafted a report the council will consider, all the council can regulate is where new gaming venues are located and the numbers of machines.
In all other matters, the Department of Internal Affairs regulates the industry, from requiring venue staff to have host-responsibility training and all pokie machines to be electronically monitored, to saying how funds can be distributed and keeping a check to see this is done transparently and honestly.
The city council tries to find a balance between the legal right of gambling societies to operate in the community and minimising the harm that is being caused, Mr Mechen says.
His report to the council recommends continuing with the status quo - no sinking lid but a ban on "the establishment of new venues in residential areas or adjacent to any school, early-childhood facility, place of worship or other community facility, irrespective of zone".
The policy does also "acknowledge its status as a legitimate activity enjoyed by many within the community".
Research shows that accessibility to venues is a major factor in problem gambling, and the city already has a policy that they should not be in residential areas, he says.
However, about three-quarters of the city's gaming venues are actually in pubs in residential areas.
They tend to be concentrated in relatively socio-economically deprived areas, such as South Dunedin, St Kilda, Forbury, Caversham, and Green Island.
Mr Mechen says they are there by existing-use right and the council is hamstrung to do anything about them.
It also has no jurisdiction over the casino, which also has gaming machines but comes under different regulations.
Any venue operating before October 17, 2001 was not affected by policies put in place by the Gambling Act of 2003, which required territorial authorities to take account of the social impact of gambling in their regions and regulate where gambling venues are situated and the number of machines.
Only new venues were affected by the DCC's subsequently enacted policy.
One in Brockville had to remove its machines, and a few others had to reduce their numbers, Mr Mechen says.
Over the past decade there has been a reduction in the number of gaming machines in the city.
The last application for a new venue in the city was 2007, Mr Mechen says.
When the council last reviewed its policy on gambling two years ago, a bid to adopt a sinking-lid policy on pokie machines failed, despite the emotional pleas of problem gamblers.
That decision was made in part because the number of venues and machines in the city had already dropped, and a report on the issue last year said that decline was continuing.
Karen Shea, chief executive of the Dunedin-based Southern Trust, one of the largest gaming-machine operators in the country, attributes this to rationalisation.
"It's a business decision, both for the society and the venue operator.
"If everyone's not winning out of it, if there's not enough money being generated to pay the Government, the bills, the community, the venue operator, then there's no point in doing it," she says.
She believes a sinking-lid policy on the number of gaming machine venues would have little effect on the industry.
Ms Shea says the Southern Trust's income has gone down over the past two years because of the recession, and it also goes down when there's a large Lotto jackpot in the offing, indicating that most gamblers can make decisions about where to spend their discretionary dollars.
Income from pokies also went down after venues were required to be smoke-free from December 10, 2004.
However, Mr Moore says the introduction of a sinking-lid policy would be a simple, clear-cut, overt recognition that gambling can also cause harm, and has its part to play in a public-health package.
People often misunderstand that a public-health approach is multilevel and includes many aspects, from banning problem gamblers from venues, to anti-gambling advertisements and local council policies.
The whole package will have impact rather than any single issue, he says.
Chris Watkins, of the Salvation Army's Oasis Centre in Dunedin, estimates that statistically there are about 650 problem gamblers in Dunedin.
Each problem gambler affects between seven and 16 other people, suggesting between 4550 and 10,400 people in the city (between 4% and 9% of the population of 115,000) are affected by problem gambling, he says.
The amounts spent on pokies are large.
About $1 billion dollars is lost on them every year in New Zealand, which Mr Watkins translates to a daily loss of about $60,000 in Dunedin.
About 40% of that is lost by the estimated 650 problem gamblers, each spending an average of $13,559 a year.
"It sounds like a lot, but when we sit with our clients every week, that is quite a conservative sum.
"Two last week lost $30,000 in a year," he says.
He is adamant that pokies only exist because of problem gamblers - otherwise they wouldn't be profitable, he says.
Mr Watkins and his colleague, Judith Clarke, admit they may be blinkered.
"We don't see people having a good time gambling, we just see the harm.
"The [gambling] trusts would argue that we are just seeing a very narrow part of the story.
"However, this part of the story is so incredible - at times it's depressing, it's tragic, hearing the same stories again and again.
"We aren't arguing against the idea that gambling can be fun, but at some point the harm has to be seen to outweigh the benefits of the pokie machine," he says.
Over-represented among those who develop gambling problems are beneficiaries (some of whom lose everything, including their houses), those with mental-health problems and people of Maori, Pacific and Asian ethnicity.
But the Oasis Centre sees people from all walks of life, according to Ms Clarke.
"We are getting more senior citizens and they are absolutely ashamed and horrified at themselves because it's so much against their values.
"They could not have imagined they would get sucked into something like this and it's causing them incredible distress and real shame.
"I think we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of seniors.
"They get postcards from venues saying 'We haven't seen your face here for a while.
"Hope everything's all right'.
"Of course they go back there - it's warm and they can have a free coffee."
Another group increasingly turning up with gambling problems are young male students - highly intelligent and risk-takers.
They see the only way they can afford the cool image they want is by gambling and they get themselves deeply into debt, she says.
Only a small proportion of problem gamblers access agencies such as Oasis, the Problem Gambling Foundation and the gambling helpline, which are funded through the Ministry of Health by a levy of 1.7% plus GST on gambling revenue.
The majority of people with problems do not ask for counselling, partly because of denial, shame, embarrassment or lack of information, and many think they are only one push of the button away from solving their problems, Mr Watkins says.
The Department of Internal Affairs requires venues to have host-responsibility policies to minimise harm.
These include that staff should be aware of problem-gambling behaviour and approach clients who exhibit it.
The venues also have to provide information about the odds of winning, the amount of money and time a gambler has spent - some of which pops up on the machines - and to have pamphlets available with information about gambling problems and agencies that can help.
They often also display information about the society that owns the pokie machines and the grants it can offer.
Messages are mixed, says Ms Clarke.
Venues will bring drinks to you, supply finger food to encourage you to stay at a machine, and advertisements make it seem as if you are in control.
Many of her clients feel they have been "led on a dance".
The Oasis Centre has introduced a multi-venue self-exclusion system which enables people with gambling problems to choose to be excluded from venues from Waikouaiti to Waihola.
A photograph and confidential information goes to each venue and staff are expected to approach the excluded people if they turn up at their venues. Last year, the centre had 30 clients who opted for exclusion.
"Overwhelmingly, it's been a feeling of relief because someone was taking control because they couldn't," Ms Clarke says.
It has also developed a better relationship between problem-gambling service providers and venue managers in the city, she says.
Bryan Morris, of Mitchell's Tavern, in Caversham, says he regards gaming machines as part of his business, along with alcohol and food.
Many of his clients visit the machines while they are there for a meal or a drink.
"There's more acknowledgement of problem gambling these days - like any addiction it affects a small number of people but affects them badly," he says.
Murray Galland, of Cableways Tavern, in Kaikorai, says they seldom have to address problems but there are rules in place to do so.
He thinks problem gamblers prefer not to be seen entering a gaming parlour, and as people have to go through his restaurant to his, they probably go elsewhere.
Problem gamblers tend to go to venues away from the areas they normally frequent, he says.
Both publicans praise the work the Salvation Army is doing and its multiple-venue voluntary exclusion policy.
However, it relies on staff recognising the gambler, which can sometimes be difficult.
One who had voluntarily excluded himself went around trying to catch premises out for not recognising him, according to Mr Galland.
On the other side of the coin from the harm that gambling causes, are the grants from gambling proceeds that are given to community groups as varied as schools, sports groups, arts groups, environmental groups, health agencies, church groups and promotional events such as the iD fashion show.
Pokie machines are now electronically monitored by the Department of Internal Affairs, and gambling trusts and societies are required to pay about 32.5% of the profit to the Government and a minimum of 37.12% must be returned to the community.
The venue operator gets about 16%.
The rest goes to the trust that owns the machines to cover costs, according to Karen Shea.
Her trust, which promotes itself as one of the more responsible and community-conscious, aims to maximise the return to the community.
Last year, it distributed 44% of its profits, of which $683,737 went to Dunedin groups.
They aim to return 95% of their distributions to the communities in which the money was raised and 5% to national organisations.
She says organisations domiciled or working in areas where the machines operate, such as South Dunedin, get first dibs on the funds.
The Southern Trust also has a youth focus in its grants, and about 38% of its grants go to sports, particularly those encouraging children to be active.
"As an organisation, we believe it's very important for kids to get out and play sport and not be sitting on their backsides playing PlayStation and computer games and that sort of thing," she says.
Gambling trusts supply about a third of the grants to sports and community groups, Department of Internal Affairs deputy secretary Keith Manch said in a speech to a Sport and Recreation New Zealand conference in June 2008.
He also pointed out that a survey by the Health Sponsorship Council indicated that 51% of adults thought raising money through gambling did more harm than good.
In considering its strategic approach to gambling in December 2008, the DIA reported that 64% of the population think non-casino gaming machines are undesirable.
Many people question the ethics of receiving money raised by gambling.
Some see it as a kind of reverse Robin Hood effect, where money, mainly from a small number of people in the lower income brackets, is used to fund those who are better off.
"What we are concerned about is that the money is going from the poorest, the most vulnerable parts of the community to provide not only sports and arts and recreation societies, but it's also paying for government tax," says Mr Watkins.
In its strategic report, the DIA refers to the potential downside of relying on gambling funding to support community activities - "a concern that this undermines community capability in traditional and/or developing innovative methods of raising funding".
The New Zealand Government, like a number of other democratic governments, liberalised gambling in the late 1980s and early 1990s, according to Assoc Prof Peter Adams, director of the Centre for Gambling Studies at Auckland University, in his book Gambling, Freedom and Democracy (2008).
Not only was it seen as part of the free-market economy, it became increasingly tempting to use gambling revenue to reduce demands for funding from sources such as tax, which could be reduced as a result.
Revenue often overrides other concerns and the community allows itself to be persuaded of the benefits associated with gambling money and is unwilling to seriously consider the impacts of gambling-related harm, he says.
However, governments soon found themselves with conflicting roles, promoting gambling on one hand and trying to protect the public from the harm it causes on the other.
Many community groups and non-profit organisations now believe they would not be able to survive without grants from gambling trusts, and even health, education, church and other charitable organisations support them, without considering the ethics of where their money comes from.
"In New Zealand, it is now commonplace for COPGOs [community and other public good organisations] to line up in defence of gambling providers when rises in consumption are debated in the media or government committees.
Their major point is that reductions in consumption will jeopardise their own funding base.
In this way, COPGOs are recruited as lobbyists for the industry," Prof Adams writes in Journal of Gambling Issues, August 2006.
This can be seen in some of the current submissions to the DCC promoting the status quo, the writers of which, according to Mr Mechen, include not only gaming trusts but also sports and arts groups, schools and health groups such as the Stroke Foundation and Epilepsy NZ.
With the pressure from the gaming industry, the recipients of grants, and the Government's own involvement in both receiving tax and not having to fund many community groups itself, it is unlikely there will be any change in the rules soon, he says.
However, as is sometimes pointed out, it looked the same with the tobacco industry at one stage, and now tobacco advertising and sponsorship are banned in many countries.
Getting help
The gambling helpline, 0800 654 655, is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Its website, www.gamblingproblem.co.nz, is helpful not only for those who feel they or someone they know has a problem with gambling, but also has a forum where people with problems and those in recovery can share their experiences and encourage each other.
Problem Gambling Foundation
A support and counselling service for gamblers and their families, which also aims to promote responsible gambling.
There is a lot of information on its website and it has a counselling service in Dunedin. www.pgfnz.org.nz or 0800 664 262.
Oasis Centre
Run by the Salvation Army, Oasis Centres offer help and counselling for gamblers and their families. 160 Crawford St, Dunedin 477-9852.
Getting a grant
The Department of Internal Affairs has a list of gaming trusts that fund community groups on its website www.dia.govt.nz.
The department also distributes lottery funds, details of which are also on the website.
The Problem Gambling Foundation has some information about non-gambling trusts on a fact sheet at www.pgfnz.org.nzSlots to think about
Types of gambling
Social gambling is casual and fun.
You may gain enjoyment from the gambling or social company.
Heavy gambling is where you gamble often and/or with large amounts of money.
Your moods and emotions are likely to depend on gambling.
- Problem gambling is where you are less and less able to resist the impulse to gamble.
The gambling affects your moods, relationships, work/study and finances in a negative way.
- Pathological or compulsive gambling is where you are unable to resist the impulse to gamble.
You are experiencing an addiction and your wellbeing is badly affected by the gambling. www.gamblingproblem.co.nz
