The Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the Ministry of Health to demand back the $319,000 of taxpayers spent on a flawed study suggesting a weekly lotto ticket is as harmful as an amputated leg and that occasional gambling is comparable to having a heart attack. A recently released TDB Advisory paper found the Ministry’s advice was flawed in one direction, in more than a dozen ways.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Jordan Williams said:

“This is a classic example of a junk public health study. Despite the flaws and outright bias in the methodology, the study has been used for advice to Ministers, apparently to back punitive measures the Ministry supports.”

“This looks far more like political campaign, than objective official advice. Where is the quality control, or the State Services Commission? More importantly, where is the accountability for wasting hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on this junk?”

Disclosure: Jordan Williams is a former employee at NZ Lotteries (now Lotto NZ).

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