Pokie machine numbers in Palmerston North could be gradually reduced if the public supports a city council proposal to introduce a sinking lid policy.

The council’s community committee has approved putting the plan out for public consultation.

But councillors and staff alike are sceptical about how effective the policy would be in reducing the harm from problem gambling.

Strategy and policy manager Julie Macdonald said there were 295 of the class 4 gaming machines active in Palmerston North.

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That was down on 367 in 2015, and on the city’s current cap of 347.

But while the number of pokies had gone down, the amount of money put in to them had increased to more than $22 million in 2022, the highest spend recorded in the past seven years.

Each machine in Palmerston North was collecting more than $75,000 a year, well ahead of the national average of just under $70,000.

The Gambling Act required that 40% of the net proceeds from pokies were returned to communities in grants.

In 2021, that amounted to more than $5.2m for Palmerston North sports and community groups.

That was 22% of local proceeds, but Macdonald said it did not include grants to organisations that were not registered in Palmerston North, which could have branches here that benefited.

The number of new clients who sought help for problem gambling in the city reached a new high in the year to June 2022, at 142, or double the number from the year before.

Macdonald said the most common form of gambling for people who sought help for problem gambling was playing the pokies.

Changing to a sinking lid policy would mean no more machines could be set up as venues relinquished their licences or closed down machines, and existing operators would only be able to relocate in exceptional circumstances.

About half of the country was covered by councils that already had a sinking lid policy.

It was about the only way councils could have an influence over gambling.

Committee chairwoman Lorna Johnson said in previous consultations, people had already asked the council to bring in a sinking lid policy, and it was appropriate to seek submissions.

“But we should not kid ourselves it’s going to have a hugely significant effect on problem gambling.”

Cr Karen Naylor said the amount of money problem gamblers were losing on pokie machines far outweighed the community good coming back in grants.

She said it was really sad in the midst of a cost of living crisis to think that families who really could not afford it were gambling so much.

Cr Kaydee Zabelin agreed that the grants that flowed back into the community did not reduce the harm of problem gambling.

Cr William Wood said the council should be realistic with the community about how effective the sinking lid policy could be, when falling numbers of machines had already supported an increase in gambling.

“Problem gambling is unlikely to go away as a result of this policy. Money would shift online.”