Every day New Zealanders lose $5.5 million on gambling. That is around $2 billion each year. Half of this, around $1 billion, is lost on pokie machines.
	The 2006/07 New Zealand Health Survey reports that almost 3% of adults (87,000) had experienced problems due to someone’s gambling in the previous 12 months.
	It is estimated that between five and 10 people are affected by the behaviour of a serious problem gambler.
	One in six New Zealanders say a family member has gone without something they needed or a bill has gone unpaid because of gambling (in the last year).
	Māori and Pacific adults are more than three and a half times more likely than adults in the total population to be problem gamblers.
	One in five regular pokie players is likely to have a gambling problem.
	The social costs of gambling are out of proportion to the numbers of problem gamblers. Gamblers may commit crimes to finance their gambling, causing harm to their victims and their families as well as themselves, and incurring costs in the criminal justice sector.

To counter gambling harms, including problem gambling, New Zealand has adopted a public health approach, and legislation provides for an integrated problem gambling strategy focused on public health (Gambling Act 2003, Part 4, s.317) that is funded by a levy paid by gambling operators to the Crown.

The Ministry of Health is responsible, under the Act, for the prevention and treatment of problem gambling. Their approach is outlined in a six-year strategic plan - Preventing and Minimising Gambling Harm: Strategic Plan 2004-2010.

The Ministry's strategy includes provision for a programme to:

	encourage New Zealanders to make healthy lifestyle choices about gambling
	promote discussion about the effects of gambling in the community
	reduce the incidence of problem gambling among the general population, with a specific emphasis on at-risk populations.

The Ministry has contracted HSC to develop and deliver this programme.



What we are seeking to achieve

HSC's work focuses on changes both upstream and downstream.

Upstream changes include denormalising harmful gambling (by getting society to understand and question the issues around gambling harm), and building public support for measures that prevent and minimise gambling harms and create safer families, and safer venues and gambling products.

Downstream changes include providing support for frontline workers and community-led responses that range from increasing individuals' help-seeking behaviour to community initiatives to identify and address gambling harms at the local level.br>
The programme's messages are targeted at all New Zealand adults. Approaches are also being developed with those groups in the population that are disproportionately affected by gambling harms (to reduce inequalities experienced by these groups).

What we will do to achieve success

The overall goal for the HSC's problem gambling work is to reduce the incidence of problem gambling and the impact of gambling harms in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

This goal will be realised by:

	denormalising harmful gambling
	increasing people's skills and resilience to prevent and minimise harmful gambling
	increasing protection for individuals, families/whanau, and communities
	reducing the harms of gambling for individuals, families/whanau and communities.

Visit www.ourproblem.org.nz for more information on the HSC's problem gambling work.



Last updated: 03/07/09.