Pokies and poverty: problem gambling risk factor geography in New Zealand

Up to 2% of adults in New Zealand can be considered problem gamblers, where the activity has an impact on the well-being of those who gamble, and often their close associates. The most common activity involves non-casino gaming machines (NCGMs). This paper explores the geography of gambling ‘opportunity’ at small-area scales, and finds excess provision in those areas classified as highly deprived. Geographically weighted regression has been used to investigate the possibility that the degree of inequity in NCGM provision varies across New Zealand. As machines are licensed, this provides an opportunity for policy implementation towards risk reduction.