Hawke’s Bay residents are losing more at the pokies than any other region in New Zealand on a per capita basis, despite a steadily dropping number of machines and venues. Residents lost just over $11.5m at the pokies in just three months from the start of 2024, according to the latest available data from the Department of Internal Affairs.
That figure meant the region had the largest expenditure on gaming machines or ‘pokies’ in the country over the first three months of the year, when accounting for population size. Class 4 Gaming Machine Profits (GMP) is expenditure or player loss on Electronic Gaming Machines, which are colloquially known as ‘pokies’ and found in pubs and clubs. Class 4 gambling is high-risk, high-turnover gambling as defined by the DIA.
Gaming machine profits from January to March this year, divided by regional population as of the 2023 census, equals $65.74 per person in Hawke’s Bay. Hawke’s Bay was closely followed by Wellington ($65.
32 per person) and the Gisborne District ($61.95). Hawke’s Bay is also outpacing the average increase in spend per pokie machine across New Zealand, with GMP per machine increasing by 52.
2 per cent since March 2015 in Hawke’s Bay, compared to a 44.9 per cent increase over that same period across the entire country. Near the start of 2015 there were 48 venues with 709 pokie machines in Hawke’s Bay - this compares to 41 venues and 640 machines at the start of 2024.
Cath Healey, general manager for Te Rangi.
