December 21, 2014
Maori at higher gambling risk
The largest study of New Zealand gambling study in the last 15 years has found Maori and Pacific Islanders among the groups most affected by problem gambling.
Lead researcher Professor Max Abbott says about 23,500 adults are problem gamblers and a further 60,500 adults are at significant risk of developing serious problems.
A much larger number experience gambling-related harm, both through their own gambling and through the gambling of others in their families and communities.
Maori and Pacific Island females are about twice as likely to be problem or moderate risk gamblers, while for Pacific Island males the ratio is four to one.
The study found weekly or more frequent participation in casino gambling, use of electronic gaming machines and some other forms of continuous gambling were strongly associated with gambling problems, as were participation in multiple forms of gambling and high expenditure.
Other groups at high risk included people living in the most deprived neighbourhoods, which is where electronic gaming machines and TABs are heavily concentrated in the most deprived neighbourhoods.
“High exposure to more ‘toxic’ gambling forms, combined with socioeconomic inequality and other vulnerabilities, are the major drivers of gambling-related harms,” Professor Abbott says.
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