Activist demands more action on prevention of gambling addiction

David Frost from Hapai Te Hauora, a Maori public health adviser, says the public still does not have a clear picture of the damage gambling is doing to people.

He cited the case of a Hokianga publican who ripped out his pokie machines after a woman left her baby outside while she gambled put a human face on the silent addiction.

He alleged that the information put out by gaming regulator Internal Affairs is buried in spreadsheets, and it’s hard to pin down how much is coming out of communities from the various forms of gambling.

“They release these stats and it’s not really showing the community the harm that takes place so we at Hapai are working on a tool that can bring that to light so communities and organisations can see how much is being taken out and they can strategise and make plans to stop a lot of what goes on,” Mr Frost says.

He says Internal Affairs figures show at least $32.8 million came out of Northland in 2017 in gambling revenue, an increase of $1.1 million dollars from the previous year.

Source: WaateaNews