Māori express concern about NZ iGaming regulation

• Industry News
• 02. 08. 2024.
• Dusan Savic

Māori have voiced serious concerns about New Zealand being on the cusp of iGaming market regulation. A Māori collective was founded earlier this year to protect natives from gambling harm. The organisation acknowledges the attempt to regulate the industry, but it has reservations about its effect on their family and relatives.

Brooke van Velden, New Zealand’s Minister of Internal Affairs, has reassured them that licensing will be strict and that harm will be minimised. The Māori community, however, has various demands and calls to caution while there is time.

Risks in the community

Te Kahui Mokoroa, the National Māori Gambling Harm Minimisation Collective, has called on the government to reconsider the measures. Casino gambling has been limited to urban areas so far, but now it will always be available to everyone. Various spokespersons of harm prevention organisations have expressed their worries.

Cath Healey, general manager of a gambling recovery service, says that people’s well-being needs to have priority over profit. Social and financial impacts of iGaming harm must be taken into account. Te Kahui Mokoroa’s representative, Jessikha Leatham-Vlasic, added that they are apprehensive about the damage the regulation will inflict on their families, despite appreciating the effort.

Māori have five times more chance to develop gambling problems, and Māori’s use of pokie machines has been raising concerns for several years. Selah Hart, chief executive of a regional public health collective, says the gambling industry has been targeting their community by putting pokie machines in their neighbourhoods for years.

Approach with caution

Brooke van Velden has championed the regulation of online casinos in New Zealand, saying that operators will have to meet a set of strict criteria to offer services to players. Unlicensed operators will not be able to offer their services, for the primary goal is to increase player protection and ensure the operators meet requirements for harm minimisation.

Te Kahui Mokoroa has expressed readiness to work with the authorities to develop and implement regulations. This collective has also demanded that online casino advertising be banned, as it is particularly harmful to players aged 13-18. Other demands include implementing shut-down periods and establishing a national exclusion register.

However, the effects of this regulation are not the only thing the Māori community is worried about. Advertising mainly targets young people, and it is dangerous for problem gamblers. The Problem Gambling Foundation representatives explained that prohibiting advertising in general would be the best.

If not, strict limits in timing and volume should be obligatory, as should banning gambling inducements. The foundation advocates the customer verification procedure, payment method restrictions, and limits on spending and time. The organisation has also urged the government to implement a system of penalties for non-complying operators.