source: pixabay.comKawakawa, a small town in the Bay of Islands area of the Northland Region of New Zealand, has been named as the place where its residents spend the most on Pokies.
Information from data analysis company Dot Loves Data, shows that the town’s pokies spending equates to $1418 of spending for each of Kawakawa’s 1464 residents which works out at about $190 per week.
Kawakawa was developed as a service town when coal was found there in the 1860s, but coal mining ceased in the early 20th century. The economy is now based on farming and the average resident of Kawakawa earns about $22,800 a year. Residents there are as twice as likely to be unemployed than in the rest of New Zealand, yet, worryingly, the residents of the small town spend more on pokie machines than anyone else in New Zealand.
Dot Loves Data government relations director Justin Lester, a former mayor of Wellington said:
“It’s incredibly tragic for the community that so much has been spent in an area, and it’s not the only area in the country that has spending levels that big, but it is the one that stands out,”
“There’s no refuting it: all of the evidence suggests that it [pokies] targets the most deprived members of the community.”
Andree Froude, the communications director for the Problem Gambling Association said that the figures highlight the “significant spend on pokies, and it’s money coming from people who can’t afford to be losing it. If this money wasn’t being lost on pokies, it would be spent in the community at local businesses and retail outlets.”
Pokies Spending by the Poor a Concern
From the $987m total annual pokie spend, $128m, or 13 percent, was spent by the poorest 10 percent of the Kiwi population. In total, 63 percent was spent by the poorest 50 percent of New Zealanders. In contrast, the richest 10 percent spent $45m, or 4.6 percent, despite its significantly higher income.
The average spend of the poorest Kiwis works out at $380 a year. Meanwhile, for the wealthiest kiwis, it was $129.
