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4/24/2008: New Zealand Salvation Army rejects gambling money
The Salvation Army is so alarmed about the social devastation caused by pokie machines it has decided to reject all funds from the gambling industry.
The decision would cost the Salvation Army hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in funding nationwide, which it used to help people who were victims of gambling addictions.
Salvation Army social services national director Campbell Roberts said it had felt compromised by accepting funds generated from gambling and then using it to help the victims of gambling.
“We won’t be taking any money where the profits come directly from the gambling industry … that’s not to say we aren’t very grateful for the support that’s been given,” he said.
The Southland Times yesterday reported that Invercargill people lost about $40,000 a day gambling on pokie machines, equating to $14.5 million a year. Pokie machine addictions were wrecking lives with homes being lost because mortgages were not being paid, experts said.
Mr Roberts said the past year had seen a marked increase in pokie machine-related problems nationwide as Salvation Army staff dealt with horrendous situations where families were suffering from gambling addictions, he said.
EGM’s are the instruments that OLG relies on, more than 20,000 too entertain people, some 2000 plus to death to raise money for public health in Ontario.
5/19/2007: New Zealand
The Problem Gambling Levy Regulations 2007 became law last night. The regulations set the levy for the $1.9 billion-a-year profit gambling industry at an average of $18.6 million a year for the next three years plus $9.045 million under-recovery from the industry since 2004. They replace the 2004 regulations.
The levy is recovered under the Gambling Act 2003 and is based on recommendations from the Gambling Commission and the Ministry of Health, the ministers said. The money helps the Government support research into problem gambling, raise public awareness and provide services for those affected by problem gambling.
“The Cabinet has taken a very fair approach. It has listened carefully to advice and accepted recommendations from both the Gambling Commission and the ministry,” the ministers said.
The levy, shared between four gambling sectors: casinos, non-casino gaming machines, New Zealand Lotteries Commission and the New Zealand Racing Board, is due to come into force on 1 July 2007. It will continue until 30 June 2010.
Mr Barker said the levy weighting formula remains the same as for the 2004-2007 period - at 90 per cent weighted on the number of people presenting to problem gambling providers and 10 per cent weighting on the amount of money lost gambling.
Mr O’Connor said the levy is extremely important in the battle to reduce harm from gambling.
“We know about the devastating effects of problem gambling on families, but we are still learning about what lies behind it and new research is vital. Data shows that more than 80 per cent of problem gamblers are not even aware that they have a problem, so the levy takes into account this unmet need.
“Government and organisations - including service providers and the gambling industry - must work together to successfully address gambling harm in the long term.”
Mr O’Connor said he expected a recent audit of problem gambling providers and the reworking of their contracts with the Ministry of Health would lead to more efficient and effective services.
“The public has every right to expect efficient utilisation of levy money.”
No reader comments yet - add yours See related articles: Addiction and Recovery, New Zealand 
Administrator11/28/2006: New Zealand reviews addiction help services
A downturn in the number of gambling addicts seeking help has led the Ministry of Health to review 12 problem gambling services throughout New Zealand.
However, the ministry is not rushing into shutting down the services just yet, because no one knows why the numbers of problem gamblers looking for help are apparently dropping.
No one is sure why, smoking bans, public awareness and gambling limiting legislation may factor in.
Last year the Government claimed a world first with its $54 million strategy aimed at reducing problem gambling.
AdvertisementAdvertisementA three-year programme was announced to raise public awareness of gambling risks, boost problem gambling treatment services and provide information to communities. In September, the ministry released an overview of clients seeking help via the Gambling Helpline and face-to-face intervention services during 2005.
The number of people using ministry funded specialist face-to-face intervention services dropped 15.8 per cent in 2005. There was also a 20.9 per cent decrease in the number of new clients using these services.
10/19/2006: Fraud
Gambling is increasingly a major motivator for serious fraud,” says John Stansfield, CEO of the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGF).
“Since the last KPMG Fraud Survey in 2004, there has been a 60% increase in the amount of New Zealand fraud that was motivated by gambling. The 2004 study found that gambling was the highest motivator for serious fraud, and I would expect that trend to continue in 2006,” says Mr Stansfield.
“We are hearing of more and more fraud in New Zealand organizations. Studies such as the 2006 KPMG Fraud Survey and the 2006 BDO Not-For-Profit Fraud Survey both identify gambling as a motivator for fraud, which shows just how much gambling costs New Zealand organizations,” he says.
“We believe that the figures really are higher than reported, as a significant number of gamblers are not caught, so the crimes don’t get discovered. In other cases, the crime is discovered but the link to gambling wasn’t,” says Stansfield.
“Gambling crime is growing at an alarming rate, and gambling is the reason for the most serious property fraud in a number of cases.”
John Stansfield, CEO of the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand is citing the same problems found with gambling world wide. SF Gate reports 32,000 problem gamblers in jail in California at a cost of one billion dollars per year. No mention of the dollars involved in the frauds, but, the population of California and Canada are very close.
Among New Zealand businesses alone, the figure was slightly higher at 53 per cent, with an average loss of almost $480,000.
bill clark8/15/2006: New Zealand Corrections asks for better treatment programs
via: Scoop
Once released from prison, wrap-around services, delivered by Corrections and other government and non government agencies, will help prisoners find accommodation, find work and manage relationships and personal finances.
These initiatives will deliver results.
Corrections estimates that these measures will reduce the need for 100 prison beds by 2012.
In addition, new money has been budgeted for Corrections to boost treatment programmes for offenders serving community-based sentences.
These will include more domestic violence programmes to combat a jump in offending in this area, and an expansion of Tikanga Maori programmes.
Targeted interventions at this stage go a long way towards reducing the likelihood of offending escalating to a point where prison becomes the only option.
Finally, providing prisoners greater access to mental health services and gambling treatment programmes are other areas the government is actively working on.
These areas involve the Ministry of Health, district health boards and Corrections strengthening partnerships and service delivery.
No reader comments yet - add yours See related articles: Addiction and Recovery, New Zealand
Administrator9/16/2005: New Zealand
The Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand is concerned the National Party’s proposed gambling laws will harm more than it helps.
“Local communities will lose power to determine how many pokies in their area under National’s proposed gambling policy,” says John Stansfield, CEO of the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGF).
“Local communities and local council authorities have a greater understanding of their community needs than Wellington-based politicians. It is of paramount importance that those with the most knowledge have greater control in keeping their community safe from gambling harm,” says Mr Stansfield.
The National Party correctly identifies that gambling has increased significantly over the last decade, but has conveniently forgotten that an increase in gambling is accompanied by an increase in gambling problems.
“National’s proposal that venues receive a commission on community benefit is of grave concern. It appears to encourage maximising punters’ losses in favour of lining the pockets of publicans,” he says.
This could potentially increase problem gambling, and with it all the associated costs to society. The Problem Gambling Foundation has noticed a dramatic increase in the number of high-profile gambling-related crimes.
Individuals are committing acts of kidnapping and extortion, theft, fraud, neglect and a variety of other crimes in order to feed their gambling problems.
Each year 5000 New Zealanders are convicted of gambling-related crimes.
Problem gambling affects more than the individual. For every problem gambler seven others are affected. This includes whanau, children, friends, employers and employees and the wider community.
“The economic, social and cultural costs are huge,” he says.
“If that were not bad enough, problem gambling services – the very ones that help problem gamblers regain control of their lives and their gambling – are being punished for their good work.” The final point of National’s policy is the governance of the gambling industry.
Currently, the Department of Internal Affairs has control of regulating gambling in accordance with the Gambling Act, and the independent Gambling Commission acts as an appeal body for pokie operators and casino operators.
“This all adds up to a very expensive appeal system through the High Courts with less money going to community organisations.”
“This is not a policy to achieve a balance between rights to gamble and gambling harm, but proof that the National Party is more interested in greedy publicans than the communities they are supposed to be helping.”
8/29/2005: New Zealand Gambling Helpline
New Zealand’s Gambling Help site has launched an online self assessment tool to help people determine whether or not they have a gambling problem.
The site also offers tips and support for family and friends of gambling addicts.
5/17/2005: Gambling kidnap in New Zealand
A Chinese woman in New Zealand was kidnapped after abducters needed money after losing it in gambling.
“Police are giving credence to the report by saying the letter, purporting to be from one of the people who abducted Qing [Kelly] Zhao in Howick this month, contains ‘a certain amount of truth’.
“Translated, the alleged kidnapper claims those responsible had lost a lot of money at the casino and were trying to get ’some quick money’.
“…The author said he was writing in response to reports on the website from people saying they could not understand why they had freed Mrs Zhao without a ransom.
“…The letter on the internet says the people involved knew the interior of Mrs Zhao’s Bleakhouse Rd house through an associate identified as Gin Shan - which in English translates to Golden Mountain or Hill.
“The letter claims they met Gin Shan in room 301 of the SkyCity Hotel and that he had met someone with a ‘tremendous amount of money’.
“‘He said it guaranteed won’t be any problem. I ask him how he could know that person’s details and he said once upon a time he had done some renovation work for the victim’s family and that family was super wealthy’
“…The writer says they took Mrs Zhao and told her parents, who were visiting New Zealand, that they wanted a $1 million ransom.
3/11/2005: New Zealand
The Gambling Industry in New Zealand doesn’t want pop up messages on VLT’s. Regulation 8 is being debated and will be back to a committee March 16th. The regulation requires all pokie machines have a pop up window that interrupts play.
"Pop-up messages on pokie machines could have saved a child from being left in a car in a distressed state," says John Stansfield, CEO of the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand (PGF).
People playing the pokies can enter a trance-like state, and forget their responsibilities, such as children and work commitments.
Pop-up messages on pokies would frequently interrupt play, which would assist in breaking this mental state.
"If pop-up messages were in place, this young mother may have been able to save her child from this distress," says Mr Stansfield.
"There have been similar cases when parents have left children in a car unsupervised, to gamble. One that springs to mind is last October when a six-year-old left in the Christchurch Casino carpark while her mother and grandmother gambled," says Mr Stansfield.
"It is a common myth that only problem gamblers suffer from the negative impacts of gambling, when latest research indicates that at least five others are affected by one person’s gambling."
"Communities expect that the welfare of a child will be provided for by their family. When problem gambling is thrown into the equation, these expectations are often not met. Children suffer from neglect, a lack of basic provisions such as food, clothing and shelter, and occasionally victims of abuse," says Mr Stansfield.
"The effects of problem gambling on children are a grave concern, and steps need to be taken to stop it." "I am no more anti-gambling than the guy who puts seatbelts in your car is anti-driving. We just want to make these things safe."
2/9/2005: New Zealand Slot Machine trends
Although less venues chose to have VLT’s on site, the Department of Internal Affairs’ Gaming and Censorship Regulation Group in New Zealand has discovered pubs and clubs that have the machines chose to have more.
Fewer pubs and clubs are choosing to have gaming machines, but those that do are installing more pokies.
Keith Manch, director of the Department of Internal Affairs’ Gaming and Censorship Regulation Group, said the trend revealed by the latest quarterly statistics was the same for pubs, clubs and the gaming sector overall.
While the total number of venues and machines was falling, the average number of machines per venue was increasing.
The reasons were not simple but were probably based on operators learning more about how gamblers behaved.
“It could be that operators are concentrating machines in their most profitable venues.”
The stricter controls in the Gambling Act passed in September 2003 were likely to reinforce the trend to fewer machines and fewer but bigger venues, he said.
Total machine numbers peaked in the quarter before the act was passed, but have reduced each quarter since.
Mr Manch said venue numbers had fluctuated for years, with the overall trend being a slow reduction.
Fewer machines did not necessarily mean lower profits for operators.
The number of machines in the last year dropped a percentage point, but profits rose 1%.
