Press Release

Smoking Laws Break Gambling Trance

The reported drop in the number of pokie machines in Queenstown is a result of gamblers having to go outside and have a smoke says Problem Gambling Foundation research director Dr Phil Townshend.

“Smoke breaks interrupt play and break the trance-like state that pokies can induce in regular gamblers,” he said.

He was commenting on reports that the number of pokie machines in Queenstown had dropped almost 25% from 144 in September 2003 to 109 by December last year.

Dr Townshend says the connection between smoking bans and a drop in machine use has been noticed nationally.

“The non smoking legislation is having a double whammy public health benefit by reducing both smoking and problem gambling,” he says.

Dr Townshend believes the effect will be most noticeable for problem gamblers because most gambling sessions only last 13 minutes.

“The smoking rules are likely to affect the 10% of gamblers that play for over an hour. These gamblers account for 42% of all the gambling that takes place in New Zealand and are the most likely to be problem gamblers,” he says.

Dr Townshend says that it is not surprising that publicans describe their clientele as more “mainsteam” after getting rid of pokies.

“Research suggests that most people who gamble don’t drink or socialize while they are gambling. This is remarkable as these are usually the most common activities in a bar,” he says.

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