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Resource material › Our Research and Reports › New Zealand Gaming Survey

The 1998-1999 New Zealand Gaming Survey is a research programme with the following elements:

Purpose

The intent of the research is to:
  • inform Government policy on gaming and responses to problem gambling
  • contribute to local scientific knowledge in the field of gambling studies
  • provide information relevant to stakeholder and end-user organisations that have an interest in gaming and/or problem gambling.
In particular, there was a concern that there is no up to date information on the nature and prevalence of problem gambling in New Zealand.

Background to the New Zealand Gaming Survey

A consortium led by Professor Max Abbott and Dr Rachel Volberg was commissioned by the Department of Internal Affairs to conduct the New Zealand Gaming Survey. Both are regarded as international leaders in the area of gaming research. Other members of the consortium include
Statistics New Zealand, the National Research Bureau, and Taylor Baines & Associates.

Funding for the New Zealand Gaming Survey came from the undistributed profits of the Lotteries Commission (applied to the project at the discretion of the Minister of Internal Affairs). Funding also came from the Committee on Problem Gambling Management. The research terms of reference were developed by the Department in consultation with a variety of statutory, industry and national voluntary sector organisations.

Download the elements of the New Zealand Gaming Survey

The elements of the Gaming Survey are available below as PDF
* format downloads. Download the document you want by clicking on a link below. Hard copies of these documents are also available on request from info@dia.govt.nz


Gambling and Problem Gambling in the Community: An International Overview and Critique

Report Number One of the New Zealand Gaming Survey provides a critical review of local and international research relating to community gambling participation in, and attitudes to, different types of gaming and problem and pathological gambling. The report discusses and critiques the principal findings of this large body of research. It also considers the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the many studies in the area. The report is a valuable source of information on the published and unpublished literature relating to gambling and problem gambling.

Seven Years On: A Follow-up Study of Frequent and Problem Gamblers Living in the Community

Report Number Two of the New Zealand Gaming Survey is based on follow-up interviews conducted in 1998 with 143 of the 217 people who participated in Phase Two of New Zealand's first national problem gambling prevalence survey in 1991. Phase One of the 1991 survey involved contacting 4053 people, mainly by telephone, and asking them about their gambling habits. Phase Two involved in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 217 people selected from Phase One participants.


The last seven years have seen a substantial growth in gaming opportunities in New Zealand. The report focuses upon the experiences of four distinct groups of people, within the 143 interviewed, during this period. Each group had varying levels of gambling involvement in 1991, and the report provides a valuable insight into how the last seven years have impacted upon that gambling involvement.

A Report on Phase One of the 1999 National Prevalence Survey: Taking the Pulse on Gambling and Problem Gambling in New Zealand

Report Number Three of the New Zealand Gaming Survey investigates the prevalence of gambling and problem gambling in New Zealand. Results indicate that problem gamblers come from a wider cross section of society and are more likely to be women than a decade ago.
Some key findings include:
  1. Between 22,700 and 50,800 New Zealanders aged 18 and older currently experience gambling problems
  2. Between 58,000 and 107,700 adults experience gambling problems at some stage during their lives
  3. Total annual gambling expenditure was approximately NZ$1.2 billion (based on survey respondents reports)
  4. In 1999, 94% of adults reported taking part in at least one form of gambling at some time in their lives
  5. 86% said they gambled during the six months prior to the survey
  6. 41% said they gambled weekly or more often
  7. Men report higher expenditure than women, but the gap has narrowed since 1991
  8. Pacific Islanders and Maori had very high rates of problem gambling
  9. Employed people had higher rates of problem gambling than the unemployed and those not in the paid workforce
  10. The forms of gambling most associated with problem gambling were, as in 1991, non-casino gaming machines and track betting
  11. While just over 1% of adults are currently problem gamblers, they account for about 20% of total reported gambling expenditure.

Prison Study: Gambling and Problem Gambling Among Recent Women Prisoners

Report Number Four of the New Zealand Gaming Survey. Primary objectives were to assess the nature of gambling and problem gambling among recently incarcerated women prisoners and to examine relationships between gambling and criminal offending. Previous research on gambling, problem gambling and gambling-related offending among prisoners and other offender populations is reviewed. The findings of the present survey are discussed in the context of this research, which includes a parallel study of male prisoners in New Zealand.

Prison Study: Gambling and Problem Gambling Among Recent Male Prisoners

Report Number Five of the New Zealand Gaming Survey represents the major findings from a survey of gambling and problem gambling among recently sentenced male inmates in four New Zealand prisons. Previous research on gambling, problem gambling and gambling-related offending among prisoners and other offender populations is reviewed. The findings of the present survey are discussed in the context of this research, which includes a parallel study of women prisoners in New Zealand.

A Report on Phase Two of the 1999 National Prevalence Survey: Problem and Non-Problem Gamblers in New Zealand

Report Number Six of the New Zealand Gaming Survey forms the second phase of a two-phase national prevalence survey of problem gambling in New Zealand. The results from the first phase have already been published in Taking the Pulse on Gambling and Problem Gambling in New Zealand (above). In that report interviews were conducted with a sample of 6,452 adults by Statistics New Zealand. The present report outlines the results of more in-depth interviews conducted with 256 Phase One participants by the National Research Bureau.

What Do We Know About Gambling and Problem Gambling in New Zealand?

Report Number Seven, the final report from the New Zealand Gaming Survey, provides a synthesis of major findings from the New Zealand Gaming Survey and other recent New Zealand gambling-related research. It caps off four years of sustained work examining the extent and nature of problem gambling in New Zealand.

Supplementary Reports to the New Zealand Gaming Survey

Problem Gambling Counselling in New Zealand: 1997-1999

This supplementary report was released as part of the New Zealand Gaming Survey in August 2000. It provides a comprehensive profile of the people receiving help for gambling problems from services funded by the Committee on Problem Gambling Management (the Problem Gambling Committee). The document features national statistics from telephone helpline and personal counselling services for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999.
  • Full Report (PDF, 24M)*
  • Part One Only (pages 1-15, Background, Contents, Foreword, Introduction, Service Delivery, Client Characteristics) (PDF, 1.5M)*
  • Part Two Only (pages 16-35, Client Characteristics (continued), Appendix: Problem Gambling Counselling Agencies, pt. 1) (PDF, 5M)*
  • Part Three Only (pages 36-55, Appendix: Problem Gambling Counselling Agencies, pt. 2) (PDF, 5.2M)*
  • Part Four Only (pages 56-75, Appendix: Problem Gambling Counselling Agencies, pt. 3) (PDF, 6M)*
  • Part Five Only (pages 76-95, Appendix: Problem Gambling Counselling Agencies, pt. 4) (PDF, 6.7M)*
  • Part Six Only (pages 96-101, Appendix: Problem Gambling Counselling Agencies, pt. 5) (PDF, 800K)*

Problem Gambling Counselling in New Zealand: 2001 Statistics

Complementary report issued by the Problem Gambling Purchasing Agency for the Problem Gambling Committee, April 2002.

Problem Gambling Counselling in New Zealand: 2002 Statistics

This is the sixth National Statistics report published on problem gambling counselling services in New Zealand.

Produced for the Problem Gambling Committee (PGC) by John Hannifin, Margaret Gruys and Dr. Grant Paton-Simpson, the report gives a comprehensive profile of the people receiving help for gambling problems from PGC funded services during 2002 and includes information from the 1997 to 2002 reports.


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