Statistics published on the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) website show the district’s 108 pokies collected $4million in gaming proceeds from 11 venues last year.
That was helped by a rise in losses over the final quarter of the year, when gamblers lost $1.03m in three months — a rise of 6.6% compared with the same period the previous year.
Last year’s losses, up from the previous year’s losses of $3.97m, are the highest recorded in Waitaki.
The council is required to conduct a three-yearly review of its TAB venues policy and class 4 gambling venues policy.
However, a staff report to the council last Tuesday recommended a pause due to staff workloads.
"A council resolution to postpone the formal review process is required to address workload and time constraints on officers and elected members for the remainder of 2025," the report said.
"Officers consider that the current policies are fit for purpose in the interim and therefore postponing the review carries minimal risk."
A gambling harm reduction advocate pushed back on that assessment.
"If this is based on the numbers of people who have presented for help at a gambling harm support service such as ours, that data is not a good indicator of the level of harm as so many people do not present for help," Problem Gambling Foundation Services advocacy and public health director Andree Froude told the Oamaru Mail.
"If you look at the multi-venue exclusion data you can see that the Canterbury region [which includes Waitaki] is the second-highest in the country in terms of the number of exclusions, coming in after Auckland.
"This data reflects the number of people who have self-excluded from venues as a tool to assist them in reducing or stopping their gambling.
"The amount lost on pokies in Waitaki district is certainly significant [$4m in 2024].
"That is a lot of money coming out of the community that could have been spent in other areas. It is concerning that it has continued to trend upward since 2015."
DIA statistics show gaming machine proceeds (the amount collected by venue operators, not the total amount gambled) have been trending upwards every year since 2015.
The only annual drop since then was during the height of the Covid 19 lockdowns in 2021, when losses dropped to $3m before rising again the following year.
The report considered by councillors last week said for the remainder of the 2025 year, elected members and officers "have a significant workload and time constraints", including preparing the district plan review, long-term plan and upcoming local government elections.
"Approving that the review be conducted in 2026 with the special consultative procedure, satisfies the legislative requirements for the review to be commenced within the three-year period."
Staff told councillors at the meeting the review had technically started by putting the motion to postpone on the table, presenting no legal risk to the council.
The council voted to pause the review, with one abstention (Cr Brent Cowles, who abstained due to a conflict of interest).
