A reformed pokie addict who spent 20 years on the slots wants a North Island council to bin proposed changes to its gambling policy.
Ōtorohanga District Council voted to loosen the rules for venues, moving away from a long-standing 'sinking lid' policy in October 2020.
The change in policy required public consultation, now under way, with public submissions closing 1 April.
If the district councillors fail to change the original vote, the community could see an increase in pokie machines.
Reformed pokie addict Josh says he gambled to escape reality Photo: RNZ/ Dan Cook
Ōtorohanga local Josh* has battled with his pokie addiction for about 20 years.
"It was something that I would think about from the moment that I woke up, to the moment that I closed my eyes. It was something that I never ever felt fulfilled by.
"It wasn't about the lights or the noise, it was just that chance to zone out and get away from reality. When I'd find myself in stressful situations, that was my go-to. It was like, 'I'm going to go have a gamble and just pretend the world doesn't exist'," he said.
Josh is opposing the council's bid to change its gambling policy.
A 'Controlled Increase in Venues' policy would give the council the ability to look at any new pokie machine proposals for venues on a case-by-case basis.
Councillor Bryan Ferguson is pushing for the change. He said he knew pokies could cause harm, but he didn't want them to disappear.
"It's not enough harm to take it away for everyone, that's what prohibition is. And there is plenty of help there, and I'll be the first one to help," he said.
There are 23 pokies in the Ōtorohanga District, 18 are at the Ōtorohanga Club and five at the Kawhia Hotel.
Problem Gambling Foundation spokesperson Andree Froude says pokie machines in the community are the most harmful form of gambling in New Zealand Photo: RNZ/ Dan Cook
The Problem Gambling Foundation said the total losses by those machines in 2019 was $997,000 - more than $2700 a day.
Spokesperson Andree Froude said the machines were highly addictive.
"Pokies in our pubs, clubs and TABs are the most harmful form of gambling in New Zealand. Pokies in casinos are also harmful, but it's those community pokies that are causing the most harm," she said.
Councillor Ferguson is a former president and a life member of the Ōtorohanga Club, and is on the board of Clubs New Zealand.
He said people would gamble no matter what.
"There is problem gambling, there's problem drinking, there's problem all sorts of things, but prohibition doesn't work either.
"In Ōtorohanga, we're a tight community. We can manage it, so why not manage our own and instead of letting our community go somewhere else and gamble, at least we can manage what's in our back door," he said.
Councillor Bryan Ferguson says people will just go to other towns to gamble if there are no pokie machines in Ōtorohanga Photo: RNZ/ Dan Cook
The October policy vote was passed with a majority of five councillors to three.
Mayor Max Baxter voted to continue with the sinking lid policy.
"I still fail to see any true benefit in gambling in our community.
"I mean, I know that the profits from gambling - a percentage go back to your community, but in my own opinion, the damage that it does to the individuals, the whānau, and those that are addicted to gambling are far greater than what's returned to our communities," he said.
Despite this, Baxter said he hadn't tried to change his councillors' minds.
"This is the wonderful thing about democracy, isn't it? Elected members are elected by the communities to represent the views of the community. So if the submissions come in and they're strongly against bringing back the previous policy, then hopefully our elected members listen to that.
"Contrarily, if the submissions go, 'hey, this is a great idea', then I suppose we should be voting on what the community is saying to us," he said.
By law, 40 percent of poker machine proceeds must be distributed as grants. Clubs adhere to a different set of rules and aren't required to give back, but often do.
Ferguson said the pokie money from the Ōtorohanga club had made a large impact on the community.
"A lot of money has gone into providing those sort of amenities in town. Providing for the summer soccer and the winter soccer, providing for the golf club...we come up with money to buy tractors and things like that, that all comes from within the club, right? So that's why we have gaming in town.
"We don't just spend it inside the club itself as people might think, despite the fact that there is harm, and there's harm in all sorts of things," he said.
Ōtorohanga town centre Photo: RNZ/ Dan Cook
But Andree Froude from the Problem Gambling Foundation said the risk doesn't outweigh the reward, and evidence showed harm from pokies far outweighed the community funds generated. Additionally, community funding from the profits often don't go back to the parts of the community they came from.
"A council that really has got its community wellbeing at heart wouldn't want to see more of these machines in those communities.
"That money is coming from people who can least afford to lose it. It's a very high deprivation community... one of the main reasons often that people do gamble on pokies is to escape some other stress that they have in their life."
The stance that people using them would have just gambled anyway, was "not good enough", she said.
"Pokies are the most harmful form of gambling in New Zealand. People presenting for help, over 50 percent of them will present with problems with pokie machines. They're highly addictive, and they do cause a lot of harm in our community. No amount of community or giving to charitable purposes makes up for the harm."
She was concerned that scrapping the sinking lid policy opened the door for another venue to provide pokies.
"We're seeing councils across the country introducing sinking lid policies because they do decrease the number of pokies over time and it's the best policy to minimise harm."
Ōtorohanga Sports Club president Paul Singh also opposes a change and has written a personal submission to the council.
Singh said because the club doesn't access pokie money, members have to work harder to integrate with the community.
"The benefits of pokie money are overstated in my view and in my experience.
"I believe over half the community clubs in New Zealand are completely reliant on pokie money. And instead of relying on their communities, the wrong end of town is funding our community sport. I think that's a problem," Singh said.
Ōtorohanga Sports Club president Paul Singh has written a personal submission opposing the change Photo: RNZ/ Dan Cook
Josh wants to warn councillors about the risks associated with more gaming machines in the community.
He said his two-decade addiction led him down a "dark hole" and it's taken him a "long time" to come out the other side.
"There have been times where I have been there from the time that it opened, to the time that it closed. All that mattered was what was right in front of me," he said.
Josh has now managed to part ways with his 20-year addiction after seeking professional help six months ago.
The Ōtorohanga councillors are due to vote on the policy change in mid-April.
*Not his real name
Where to get help:
Gambling Helpline: You can talk to telephone counsellors for free any time on 0800 654 655, night or day, or you can text 8006.
Problem Gambling Foundation: 0800 664 262