Further Drop in Gaming Machine Numbers

23/01/2007

The number of gaming machines in New Zealand pubs and clubs continued to decline in the last quarter of 2006, according to gambling licensing statistics compiled by the Department of Internal Affairs.

In the three months to December 31, 2006, licence holders declined 1 per cent on the September 06 quarter and by 9.5 per cent over the calendar year. The number of gaming machines over the same 12-month period dropped by 3.9 per cent.

Licensed gambling operations in pubs and clubs
Date	Licence holders	Venues	Gaming machines
31 December 2006	476	1666	20,518
30 September 2006	481	1676	20,571
30 June 2006	496	1701	20,739
31 March 2006	513	1721	21,026
31 December 2005	526	1747	21,343
30 September 2005	535	1770	21,684
30 June 2005	553	1801	21,846
31 March 2005	568	1838	22,159
31 December 2004	584	1850	22,231
31 December 2003	672	2031	22,734
30 June 20031	699	2122	25,221

1.Machine numbers peaked in the quarter before the Gambling Act was passed.

The Department’s Director of Gambling Compliance, Mike Hill, said that this decline was expected but he now anticipates a levelling out of gaming machine numbers with the installation of the Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) being completed by March 18 2007.
Further information, including numbers of venues and machines by territorial authority and the changes in these numbers, is available from the Department’s website: Gaming Statistics

Twenty-three regions recorded decreases in machine numbers while 20 registered increases. The most significant decreases were in Wellington (23 machines), Napier (22) and Tasman District (15). Significant increases were registered in Whangarei and Invercargill with 18 each and Auckland 14.

Media Contact:
Trevor Henry, communications adviser, Department of Internal Affairs
Ph 04 495 7211; cell 0275 843 679