New Zealanders are gambling less, but a tenth of the population is still going without something needed or not paying bills because of gambling, a major study reveals.
AUT University says its survey is the largest of its kind in the past 15 years and part of the National Gambling Study.
It found national gambling rates fell to 80 percent in 2012, when the survey was done, from 86 percent in 1999.
However, 430,000 people indicated that they go without something needed or do not pay bills, because of gambling.
The survey identified about 84,000 adults as problem or moderate-risk gamblers.
It found Maori and Pacific Islanders are much more affected, with Pasifika men over four times more likely to be problem gamblers than men in the total population.