The Salvation Army Oasis is describing harmful gambling as ‘the hidden addiction’ in its Gambling Harm Awareness Week campaign that runs from 5 to 11 September. “People experiencing harm from gambling often feel ashamed and stigmatised, and try to hide their situation, making it even less visible to others,” says Lisa Campbell, national operations manager Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Problem Gambling’
Why do bureaucrats favour online gambling?
Monday, September 9th, 2019Public health advocates say the Department of Internal Affairs is prioritising the profits of Kiwi gambling companies over the health of Kiwi gamblers Department of Internal Affairs has launched a probe to discover what it should do about gambling websites. In August, DIA released a discussion document presenting four options, as well as a set Read more
NGO’s, sports bodies and churches “addicted” to funding derived from gambling
Monday, August 6th, 2018
Professor Max Abbott says the way gambling has been set up in New Zealand has silenced the organisations, including churches, that would usually be expected to oppose the proliferation of opportunities to gamble In an interview on RNZ’s Nine to Noon programme on Monday, he said the profits from gambling are distributed to NGOs and Read more
Addiction to the pokies – who’s to blame?
Friday, December 2nd, 2016
For years, poker machine addicts have been held accountable for their problem gambling. But new research reveals that it is in fact the machine’s manufacturers who should take responsibility for player addiction to the pokies. In days gone by, for many families, a lunch at the local club wasn’t complete until the adult diners had Read more
Auckland Justice & Peace Commission concerned about gambling
Friday, September 6th, 2013
The Gambling (Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill passed its final reading on Wednesday night. In its original form, the Bill would have required gaming machine proceeds to be solely distributed locally. It would also have forced machine operators to track players and provide pre-paid cards. But these provisions were scrapped during the select-committee stage, to ensure the Read more
A church’s attitude directly affects its members gambling habits
Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013
New research shows a church’s position on gambling directly affects its congregation. Whether Pacific people gambled was largely influenced by their church, and whether the denomination endorsed gambling or not, researchers found. Additionally, the study found that New Zealand offered more gambling opportunities and more free time than Pacific countries, and many study participants viewed Read more
Confused reporting of Catholic position on SkyCity Casino deal
Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013
On Monday, the Chair of Auckland’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission, Peter Garrick, had to issue a clarification of a report on National Radio about the Catholic church’s views on the Sky City International Convention Centre. The National Radio report said that a commissioner with the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Church, Seamus Donegan, told the New Read more
Cash-strapped club forced to rethink pokie money
Tuesday, August 27th, 2013The Mt Wellington Warriors league club made a stand against pokie money. It ripped the machines out of its Thompson Park clubrooms and turned its back on trust grants. “A lot of the parents can’t buy boots for their kids. They are saying they haven’t got the money, and that they can’t get them to Read more
Guam approves continued gambling as a temporary measure – Church concerned
Friday, June 28th, 2013
On Monday Guam lawmakers unanimously voted to approve Bill 19, which would allow legal gambling activity to temporarily continue on Guam in order to subsidize the Guam Memorial Hospital and other public agencies. Once those debts are paid off, all gambling would be outlawed, the bill states. The Catholic Church on Guam said its main Read more
Catholic opinion divided on Samoa’s casinos
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
A spokesperson for the Church, Father Ioane Ono, was recently reported as saying the Catholic church is not too concerned about the casinos opening on Sundays. “Gambling is optional. It is a matter of a person’s choice,” he said. “There is no specific teachings of the [Catholic] church with regards to gambling,” says Father Ioane. Read more