Spending on pokies up again

Gaming machine expenditure in 1600 pubs and clubs around the country rose almost two and half per cent to $243.5 million in the three months to Sept 30 2007 compared with $237.7 million in the previous quarter, according to figures from the government's electronic monitoring system (EMS).

The Department of Internal Affairs' Director of Gambling Compliance, Mike Hill, said the latest figures continue the trend shown in the June quarter but the September quarter had more 'trading' days. The June quarter included Easter, Anzac Day and Queen's Birthday.

"We would expect this increase to be translated into more money being returned to the community in grants from licensed societies," Mr Hill said.

EMS became fully operational last March and enables the Department of Internal Affairs to track and monitor gaming machine operations, ensuring the integrity of games and the accurate accounting of money.

The biggest spending areas in the September quarter were Auckland City with $25.8 million (10.6 per cent of the total), Christchurch City $22.8 million (9.4 per cent) and Manukau City $19.9 million (8.2 per cent).

Non-club venues accounted for almost 87 per cent of the expenditure at $211.6 million, with chartered clubs registering eight per cent ($18.7 million), RSAs four per cent ($9.2 million) and sports clubs ($3 million) the remainder.

The September quarter gaming machine statistics fluctuated marginally on the previous quarter indicating that numbers have stabilised with the introduction of EMS. Licence holders dropped on the June 07 quarter, from 439 to 435, venues from 1598 to 1593 while gaming machines increased from 20,120 to 20,163.
Licensed gambling operations in pubs and clubs
Date Licence holders Venues Gaming machines
30 Sep 2007 435 1593 20,163
30 June 2007 439 1598 20,120
31 March 2007 444 1607 20,302
30 Sep 2006 481 1676 20,571
30 June 2006 496 1701 20,739
31 March 2006 513 1721 21,026
31 Dec 2005 526 1747 21,343
30 Sep 2005 535 1770 21,684
30 June 2005 553 1801 21,846
31 March 2005 568 1838 22,159
31 Dec 2004 584 1850 22,231
31 Dec 2003 672 2031 22,734
30 June 2003(1) 699 2122 25,221
(1) Machine numbers peaked in the quarter before the Gambling Act was passed.

GM spending by Society Type - July to September 2007

Society Type Total GMP Quarter % of Total

Non-Club $ 211,608,640.31 86.9%

Sports Clubs $ 3,031,710.40 1.2%

Chartered Clubs $ 19,668,670.98 8.1%

RSA's $ 9,220,746.22 3.8%
Total Club $ 31,921,127.60 13.1%

TOTAL ALL $ 243,529,767.91 100.0%

Further information, including numbers of venues, machines and expenditure by territorial authority and changes in the quarter, is available from the Department's Gaming Statistics web page at: www.dia.govt.nz