The number of people who call gambling helpline in the Bay of Plenty is in decline, comparing to former years. Still, it does not mean there is a decline in the number of problem gamblers. According to official statistics, Bay of Plenty has the lowest rate of seeking help gamblers, though it still located at the fifth highest number of gamblers in New Zealand. Rotorua has 33 gambling locations.
Helpline chief executive Krista Ferguson said that the harsh legislation on gambling, in addition to the smoking forbidding, caused less people to approach the gambling helpline in the last recent years. The statistics show a big difference between 2005 gambling helpline callers and 2001-2004 gambling helpline callers.
Maureen Waaka, staunch anti gambling spokesperson and Rotorua district councilor, says it is a mistake to believe that the statistics imply that there are less problem gamblers in New Zealand in general and in Rotorua in particular. According to Mrs. Waaka, only a decline in the amount of gambling tax collected by the government will mean that less people are gambling.
