Spending on pokies up slightly

Gaming machine expenditure in almost 1600 pubs and clubs around the country rose by just under one per cent to $245.3 million in the three months to December 31, 2007 according to figures from the Department of Internal Affairs. This compares with $243.5 million in the previous quarter.

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

The biggest spending areas in the December quarter were Auckland City with $25.2 million (10.3 per cent of the total) from 1625 machines, Christchurch City $23.6 million (9.6 per cent) from 1891 machines and Manukau City $20.2 million (8.2 per cent) from 1014 machines.

Non-club venues accounted for 87 per cent of the expenditure at $213.5 million, with chartered clubs registering 7.7 per cent ($18.9million), RSAs four per cent ($9.9 million) and sports clubs ($3 million) the remainder.

The December quarter gaming machine statistics fluctuated marginally on the previous quarter indicating that numbers have stabilised with the introduction of EMS. Licence holders dropped on the September 07 quarter, from 435 to 428, venues from 1593 to 1585 while gaming machines increased from 20,163 to 20,182. Licensed gambling operations in pubs and clubs

Date Licence holders Venues Gaming machines 31 Dec 2007 428 1585 20,182 30 Sep 2007 435 1593 20,163 30 June 2007 439 1598 20,120 31 March 2007 444 1607 20,302 31 Dec 2006 476 1666 20,518 30 Sept 2006 481 1676 20,571 30 June 2006 496 1701 20,739 31 March 2006 513 1721 21,026 31 Dec 2005 526 1747 21,343 30 Sep 2005 535 1770 21,684 30 June 2005 553 1801 21,846 31 March 2005 568 1838 22,159 31 Dec 2004 584 1850 22,231 31 Dec 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 - October to December 2007

Society Type Total GMP Quarter % of Total

Non-Club $ 213,470,510.65 87.0%

Sports Clubs $ 3,066,651.57 1.3%

Chartered Clubs $ 18,893,043.74 7.7%

RSA's $ 9,861,119.97 4.0% Total Club $ 31,820,815.28 13.0%

TOTAL ALL $ 245,291,325.93 100.0%

ENDS