MEDIA RELEASE 1 May 2014
Pokie takings down

Gaming machine expenditure in the country’s 1330 pubs and clubs in the first three months of 2014 dropped seven per cent on the takings for the last three months of 2013.

Figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs show that spending dropped from $206.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 to $192.8 million in the first quarter of 2014. This drop in spending between the fourth and first quarters of calendar years is in line with annual trends. And for the 12 months ended March 2014 expenditure was down two per cent from $828.7 million to $811.6 million.

Nationwide there were fewer licence holders, gambling venues and gaming machines at the end of March compared with 12 months earlier. Licence holders fell from 353 to 336, venues declined from 1367 to 1330 and the number of gaming machines decreased from 17,542 to 17,182.

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.

Non-casino GM spending by Society Type – January - March 2014

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. The figures are based on territorial authority boundaries, including the Auckland super city.

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(Background statistics follow)

Non-casino GM spending in quarter ended

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