...Press Release...

April 3, 2007

Gambling Commission Gets It Wrong

The Gambling Commission has got it wrong in its decision to allow a Kilbirnie pub to place pokie machines in an outdoor smoking area says Problem Gambling Foundation CEO John Stansfield.

Mr. Stansfield says the commission has ignored the views of those affected by problem gambling.

"We were approached a few weeks ago by a client who was very upset that a Christchurch bar had wheeled pokies out into the smoking area," he said.

"Gamblers know that stopping for a smoke breaks the trance they can get into when they are on the pokies," he said.

"Taking time out for a smoke gives them time to think about whether they want to carry on gambling. They say it this often results in them being able to think clearly again and saves them and their families grief,"

The case came before the Commission as an appeal by the Lion Foundation following a Department of Internal Affairs ruling that prevented the bar from moving pokies to the smoking area.

Mr Stansfield said the Commissions decision has also disregarded the views of several leading experts on problem gambling who are unanimous in their opinion that keeping smoking areas pokie free is a good harm minimisation measure.

He says that even the gambling industries own research supports this position.

A report that was commissioned by the giant Australian gambling company Tattersalls several years ago was quite explicit that smoke free laws posed an economic threat to the company because it provided the opportunity for gamblers to break free of a pokie induced trance.

"Somehow the Commission still managed to decide there had not been enough research done on the connection between smoking breaks and reduced gambling harm."

"If this was their concern they should have adopted a precautionary approach based on the expert evidence available, and upheld the DIA ruling unless further research shows it to be wrong," he said.

Mr Stansfield says that smoking legislation has also had the effect of delaying the onset of problem gambling.

"The smoke breaks are a gift to all gamblers who smoke as it also delays the onset of problem gambling. It may not have been intended but smokefree legislation sits perfectly beside the Gambling Act as a measure for reducing gambling harm.

"For the life of me I can't see why the Commission is unable to understand this," he said.

Mr Stansfield says his organisation supported the case made by the DIA.

"It was well researched and made sense but the Commission seems to have a different understanding of the purpose of the Gambling Act," he said.

"The Act was designed by parliament to 'minimise harm caused by gambling' and other related purposes, not to ensure the profitability of the gambling industry," he said.

ENDS

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