Pokie spend up over June year
Gaming machine proceeds (GMP) for the year ended 30 June 2017 rose $26.5m or 3.1 per cent from $843.4m to $869.9m,
according to figures from the Department of Internal Affairs.
The increase is in line with the previous year, where GMP for the year ending 30 June 2015 was $818.1m, a $25.3m (3.1
per cent) increase from 2014/15.
Over the year ended June 2017 the number of venues reduced by 40 to 1180, there were 380 fewer gaming machines at 15,858
and 14 fewer licence holders at 273.
GMP has been increasing since 2013/14. To gain a better understanding of these increases the Department with Business
and Economic Research Limited (BERL) analysed possible influences on expenditure between 2007 and 2016. The key findings
are:
• It is too early to call the recent increases in GMP a ‘trend’. A further 12 months of monitoring is recommended
before an upward trend can be confirmed. The report does, however, show that gambling expenditure has stabilised since
2010 following a period of decline.
•
• For the period 2007-2016, there is no evidence of the macro-economic factors analysed impacting on GMP.
•
• There is a suggested link between Stand Alone Progressive Prize (SAPP) machines and increases in gambling
expenditure. (A SAPP gaming machine has games that contribute to incrementally increasing prizes, similar to a jackpot,
which can only be won on that gaming machine.) There will be further analysis and monitoring of SAPPs by the Department.
•
• Despite recent increases in GMP the report finds there is a positive relationship between expenditure and the
number of venues. This means that, overall, the reduction in venues (see table Licensed gambling operations in pubs and
clubs) has contributed to reduced GMP. In 2007/08 there were 1552 venues which produced $938.3m in GMP; in 2016/17 1180
venues produced $869.9m.
•
The full report ‘Research into Influences on Class 4 Gaming Machine Proceeds’ is available on the Department’s website
via this link:
Non-casino GM spending by Society Type – April - June 2017Society TypeTotal GMP Quarter% of TotalNon-Club$194,848,570.35 88.6Sports Clubs$3,525,304.24 1.6Chartered Clubs$15,267,659.15 8.2RSAs$6,340,193.812.9Total Club$25,133,157.20 11.4Total All$219,981,727.55 100.0
The spending is captured through the electronic monitoring of non-casino gaming machines (EMS), which became fully
operational in March 2007, enabling the Department to track and monitor operations, ensure the integrity of games and
the accurate accounting of money.
A regional breakdown of expenditure is available from the Department’s Gaming Statistics web page. The figures are based on territorial authority boundaries, including Auckland city.
A fuller range of Gambling Statistics are available from links on this web page: https://www.dia.govt.nz/Resource-material-Information-We-Provide-Gaming-Statistics
Footnote: We don’t adjust these quarterly stats for inflation or population, only the annual gambling expenditure
statistics covering the four main forms of gambling – casinos, racing, lotteries and class 4.
ends