The Department of Internal Affairs

Te Tari Taiwhenua | Department of Internal Affairs

Building a safe, prosperous and respected nation



 

Pokie spend drops


30 April 2008
Gaming machine expenditure in almost 1600 pubs and clubs around the country fell by just under 11 per cent to $218.5 million in the three months to March 31, 2008 reversing the trend of the previous three quarters, according to figures from the Department of Internal Affairs. Expenditure was $245.3 million in the December quarter, $243.5 million in the September quarter and $237.7 million in the June quarter.

The electronic monitoring of 20,000 non-casino gaming machines became fully operational in March 2007 enabling the Department to track and monitor operations, ensuring the integrity of games and the accurate accounting of money.

Spending was down in 68 of the 73 districts. The biggest spending areas in the March quarter were Auckland City, down by $3.6 million to $21.6 million (9.9 per cent of the total) from 1607 machines, Christchurch City, down by $2.9 million to $20.7 million (9.5 per cent) from 1890 machines and Manukau City, down by $3 million to $17.1 million (7.8 per cent) from 1014 machines.

Non-club venues accounted for 86 per cent of the expenditure at $188.6 million, with chartered clubs registering 7.8 per cent ($17 million), RSAs four per cent ($8.8 million) and sports clubs ($4.1 million) the remainder.
The March quarter gaming machine statistics were all down on the December 07 quarter. Licence holders dropped, from 428 to 421, venues from 1585 to 1569 and gaming machines from 20,182 to 20,018.
The statistics were also down on 12 months ago when there were 444 societies operating 20,302 machines at 1607 venues.

Licensed gambling operations in pubs and clubs
Date
Licence holders
Venues
Gaming machines
31 March 2008
421
1569
20,018
31 December 2007
428
1585
20,182
30 September 2007
435
1593
20,163
30 June 2007
439
1598
20,120
31 March 2007
444
1607
20,302
31 December 2006
476
1666
20,518
30 September 2006
481
1676
20,571
30 June 2006
496
1701
20,739
31 March 2006
513
1721
21,026
31 December 2005
526
1747
21,343
30 September 2005
535
1770
21,684
30 June 2005
553
1801
21,846
31 March 2005
568
1838
22,159
31 December 2004
584
1850
22,231
31 December 2003
672
2031
22,734
30 June 20031
699
2122
25,221
1. Machine numbers peaked in the quarter before the Gambling Act was passed.

GM spending by Society Type - January to March 2008
Society TypeTotal GMP Quarter% of Total
Non-Club$188,633,431.15 86.3%
Sports Clubs$4,081,460.72 1.9%
Chartered Clubs$16,983,450.88 7.8%
RSAs$8,787,142.45 4.0%
Total Club
$29,852,054.05 13.7%
Total All
$218,485,485.20 100.0%

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.
Media Contact:
Trevor Henry, communications adviser, Department of Internal Affairs
Ph 04 495 7211; cell 0275 843 679