International Gambling Conference Nz

Problem Gambling in New Zealand - A Brief Summary (6 October 2008) AUT problem gambling conference presentation about ensuring that gambling operators maintain an appropriate focus on the safety requirements of the Gambling Act 2003: International Gambling Conference - The Regulators' Challenge: Looking Forward (22 February 2008) (PPT, 100K). An example of a piece of New Zealand research that has particular relevance to this conference is the Youth 2012 survey, which included questions on mobile phone and internet gambling. The findings from the survey for young Maori for example, indicated that since 2007 the proportion of young males who gamble has declined significantly and for. 2020 NYCPG ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON PROBLEM GAMBLING Thank you to everyone who helped make this year’s event a huge success! Find 2020 Conference Materials HERE. Please stay tuned for details on our 2021 conference, which are TBD.

Hon Peter Dunne
Associate Minister of Health

19February 2014

Address to 5th International GamblingConference, AUT University, Auckland

Tena koutoukatoa, good morning and thank you for the invitation tospeak today at the opening of the 5th International GamblingConference.

I would like to begin by welcoming all of you,in particular our international guests and distinguishedspeakers, some of whom have travelled from around the globeto be here.

In particular I would like to acknowledgeAssociate Professor Papaarangi Reid from the University ofAuckland, New Zealand, Judge Mark G. Farrell, Senior Justicein the Amherst, New York Criminal and Civil Court, USA,Associate Professor Samantha Thomas from University ofWollongong, Australia and Professor Gerda Reith fromUniversity of Glasgow, UK.

I would also like toacknowledge those visitors from overseas and within NewZealand who have participated in the International ThinkTank on Gambling Policy and Research Practice, over the pasttwo days.

This year the conference is host to a wide rangeof international delegates.

There are approximately 200delegates here from more than 12 countries which explainsthe diversity of the programme, which I note includespresentations from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada,Finland, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Uganda,the UK the USA and New Zealand.

The theme of this year’sconference is Gambling in a Mobile Era: Developments,Regulations and Responses.

With technology having madeadvances, which seem breath-taking for a lot of us, we havenow reached a point where we can have the internet ‘in ourpocket’. This of course allows for a great deal ofconvenience across a wide spectrum of activities in ourlives.

However, for those in the business of minimisinggambling harm, the downside is, the convenience offered byour smart phone or iPad is offset by the ease with whichonline gambling sites are able to be accessed.

Vulnerablepopulations in our global communities, particularly youngpeople, are the groups who are most likely to be negativelyaffected by these advances.

Gambling in a mobile erapresents a challenge for all of us so we all need to work toensure these people are protected.

How we address thatchallenge, keep abreast of its development, plan itsregulation and respond to its progress is the reason we arehere for these few days.

Learning from each other iscritical.

This conference gives us the opportunity toshare knowledge and expertise from our collectiveexperience.

This is a chance for you as participants tofind out about the work and research programmes underwayacross the world, and perhaps closer to home as well.

Inaddition to my role of Associate Minister of Health, I havealso recently been appointed Minister of InternalAffairs.

Both these roles I have considerable experiencein, having held them both at various stages over the lasttwo decades or so, although never before at the sametime.

Nevertheless, I am pleased to see the stronglinkages that exist between the Department of InternalAffairs and the Ministry of Health.

I see the‘dovetailing’ of these two ministerial roles as apositive, enabling me to maintain a broad overview of thewider gambling and harm minimisation sectors.

I am pleasedto note that there is considerable work being undertaken bythe Department of Internal Affairs including policy adviceon compliance, harm minimisation and regulatoryoversight.

It is intending to carry out a review of harmminimisation systems that will look at, among other topics,the benefits and costs of introducing pre-commitment systemsand other types of harm minimisation technology.

NewZealand’s Gambling Act was passed in 2003. By and large,it is still working well. Since its enactment its focus onpublic health has remained a central focus of the strategyto prevent and minimise gambling harm here in NewZealand.

Our strategy includes a focus on prevention usinga population based health approach, and importantly it alsoincorporates a research component to continue the buildingof a strong evidence base.

In New Zealand the Ministry ofHealth funds and manages a research programme that includespopulation surveys on gambling, clinical trials, and serviceevaluations.

The research also includes a focus oninequalities between Maori, Pacific and Asian groups anddifferent socioeconomic groups.

Through this research weare fortunate to be able to generate quality evidence onchanges in gambling related harm over time, and theeffectiveness of interventions for preventing and minimisingthis harm.

This allows the Ministry, the New Zealandpublic and sector stakeholders to be informed about theimpact of gambling.

Two pieces of work in particular standout from the significant body of research the Ministry ofHealth has commissioned.

International Gambling Conference Nz 2019

These are the OutcomesFramework for Preventing and Minimising Gambling HarmBaseline Report and what is thought to be the largestclinical trial of interventions for problem gambling in theworld.

Interestingly, the clinical trial demonstrated thatbrief interventions delivered over the telephone can be veryeffective in reducing gambling related harm.

This findingis particularly relevant given the ‘Gambling in a MobileEra’ theme of this conference.

I am pleased to note thatthis conference focuses on the benefits of technologicalchange, in addition to the potential downsides of it. Afterall, for all those for whom access to new technology mightbe problematic in terms of gambling issues, there arenonetheless opportunities for service providers to connectbetter with clients.

A double edged sword, if youlike.

The Baseline Report which the Ministry commissionedKPMG to produce, aims to identify short, medium and longterm outcomes to enable an integrated approach to gamblingharm.

While the baseline report adds significant value inits own right, important additional value will come from theproposed on-going annual reports that will measure progressand trends against the baseline.

The Ministry is giving apresentation on this work later in the Conference.

I thinkwe all know, from a variety of sources including the mediaand our own personal experience that young people are amongthe most avid adopters of mobile technology.

Theimplications of this, in terms of their gambling, are stillemerging in New Zealand.

An example of a piece of NewZealand research that has particular relevance to thisconference is the Youth 2012 survey, which includedquestions on mobile phone and internet gambling.

Thefindings from the survey for young Maori for example,indicated that since 2007 the proportion of young males whogamble has declined significantly and for young females ithas not changed.

The Ministry is undertaking furtherresearch into the participation of young people in gamblingactivity. While the preliminary results show a pleasingdecreasing trend in participation there is no room forcomplacency given those participation levels include a smallproportion of youth (1.5%) that participate in electronicand mobile forms of gambling.

Lastly, on the researchfront, the Ministry has also funded the largest longitudinalstudy of gambling in New Zealand, which is still inprogress. The methods of this study are informed by similarinternational studies in Australia and Sweden and includequestions about mobile and internet-based gambling and Ihave no doubt will provide valuable information on anon-going basis.

Like many countries around the world NewZealand continues to debate the issue of reducing gamblingharm with 2013 being a stimulating and thought-provokingyear, which included two significant events for the gamblingand harm minimisation sectors in New Zealand.

Firstly theGambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Act2013.

This Act addresses regulation making powers for thereturn of proceeds from gaming machines that operate invenues such as pubs to the communities where the funds wereraised, to strengthen New Zealand’s Community FundingModel.

The public has been consulted about these new'localised return' regulations and I hope to seek Cabinetagreement to new regulations this year.

The Act alsoincluded new regulation making powers to provide fortechnological developments to prevent gambling harm.

Newregulations could require the use of pre-commitment andother technologies in non-casino gaming machines. Officialsare currently looking at the feasibility, and potentialcosts and benefits, of introducing such systems.

I amaware of overseas examples where such technologies are beingused or are planned for introduction, such as Canada, Swedenand Norway, that we can draw on in terms of lessonslearned.

Secondly, agreement was reached on thedevelopment of a national convention centre in Aucklandwhich includes additional gambling facilities in SkyCity’sAuckland Casino. The New Zealand International ConventionCentre Act was passed in November 2013 and I am well awareof the keen interest in this legislation, particularly bymany here today.

As with many jurisdictions, New Zealandhas seen a great deal of debate on the balance betweeneconomic development opportunities and minimising potentialgambling harm/risk. Like it or not, there must be apragmatic, balanced approach to addressing potential harms,while maintaining economic growth.

This balance is presentin almost every facet of our lives. I believe that anappropriate balance was achieved with this legislation. Thiscountry simply will not prosper, as it is prospering at themoment, if we take the mentality that anything that carriesthe potential of an adverse effect, should be ruled out orbanned.

Through all the debate on this agreement, much ofit in good faith, some of it opportunistic political pointsscoring, I think many failed to recognise the significantdecline in gaming machine numbers over the last decade -from over 25,221 in 2003, to 17,266 in December 2013.

Adrop of almost 8000 machines. Yes, there will be an increasein machine numbers at the Auckland casino as a result ofthis agreement, but overall I am confident that numberswill continue to decline, a situation I am satisfiedmitigates the small increase in numbers in a location thatis, it must be remembered, primarily a gamblingdestination.

To some extent, the opposition to theConvention Centre on the grounds that there would be morepoker machines was a bit like protesting at a bar increasingthe number of beer taps it has on the counter.

Finally Inote on the Programme that in a pre-conference workshopJudge Farrell addressed Therapeutic Justice and itsapplication through the medium of Treatment Courts. Ofparticular interest is how the Therapeutic Protocol can beapplied to problem and pathological gamblers by virtue ofthe concept of Gambling Treatment Courts and currently howthis operates in the world’s only Gambling Treatment Courtin Amherst, New York.

New Zealand has established and ispiloting an Alcohol and Other Drug Addiction Court withinthe New Zealand Justice system.

Whilst in its early days Iam sure the experience shared by Judge Farrell will generatefurther thought and discussion regarding the intersectionbetween pathological gambling and the justice sector here inNew Zealand.

For all of you, whether you are working toprevent and minimise gambling-related harm, to providetreatment and support to people experiencing gambling harm,or to undertake research, connecting and communicating isfundamental part of your role.

This conference is awonderful opportunity for you all to connect and communicatewith each other, to learn from each other, and to continueto build on your knowledge and expertise.

I stronglyencourage you all to make the most of the opportunity. I,and this government, take gambling harm seriously, and Iwill continue to push the Ministry to ensure it is derivingthe best value for money from the $18.5 million invested inpreventing and minimising gambling harm this year.

I wouldlike to reiterate my best wishes to you all for a productiveand informative few days. To our overseas guests, I hope youhave the opportunity to enjoy the diverse sights, sounds,food, drink and activities Auckland and New Zealand have tooffer.

I thank you for your attention, and I wish youwell in yourwork.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

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