The problem is the pokies, not the people, says a Palmerston North counsellor dealing every day with the harm of gambling addiction.

PGF Services counsellor Bonnie Lovich-Howitt is supporting the city council’s plan to impose a sinking lid on pokie numbers in the city.

She was one of two submitters who spoke at a hearing putting the opposite view to five industry players who showcased the benefits of grants returned to the community from gaming machine profits.

Part of the industry case was that the number of problem gamblers was small and steady, that supervised venues were a safe environment, and that they contribute generously – about $12m a year – to problem gambling research, intervention and public awareness.

But Lovich-Howitt said the harm from gambling on the pokie machines extended well beyond the estimated 8000 New Zealanders registered for help.

Shame and stigma were preventing what the Ministry of Health estimated could be another 250,000 people from acknowledging troublesome gambling and seeking help.

And for each person whose gambling was an issue, some six to 10 other people were affected, either financially or through relationship breakdowns.

Lovich-Howitt said many people with a pokie addiction preferred to stay in denial rather than face judgement and stereotyping.

They did not want others to think they might be stealing off their employers to fuel their habit. They did not want others assuming they were hurting their families. They did not want to be thought of as stupid for not being able to control the urge to trigger the bright lights and sounds that came with a win on the machines.

“They hold their own shame and guilt. They might have lost a house, family, and lost respect for themselves. To have someone else having that opinion is just too much.”

Lovich-Howitt said playing the pokies triggered a chemical reaction in the brains of susceptible people irrespective of their intelligence or character.

Recognising the barrier of being labelled “a problem”, even PGF Services had dropped that word from its brand.

She currently had about 25 clients in Palmerston North, with a new case every week, and a staunch belief that each person could be helped to change if they put in the time and effort.

But a better solution would be to prevent issues in the first place, by reducing the number of pokie machines available to trigger harmful and often intergenerational gambling.

Her views were supported by Te Whatu Ora MidCentral public health services medical officer of health Janine Stevens and health protection officer Gillian Anderson.

”People and communities are harmed … in order that grants can be distributed,” they said

They said most of Palmerston North’s pokie machine venues were in the poorest areas, where some 74% of the spending happened, yet only 12% of grants made, returned to benefit those neighbourhoods.

Pub Charity managing director Martin Cheer dismissed much of the opposition as misinformation.

For example, central cities, considered desirable locations for venues, were defined as low socio-economic areas, undermining the argument that gaming machine trusts deliberately targeted the poor.

Pub Charity had five venues with 77 gaming machines and distributed more than $2.2 million in grants in the city in the year to June 2023.

Cheer said claims that gaming machines were designed to be addictive was a myth, and said there was no evidence that reducing pokie numbers reduced problem gambling.

No less than five city councillors have declared their interest in organisations that have benefitted from grants from the gaming machine trusts.

The council itself had benefitted from grants, not least, $65,000 from the NZ Community Trust for the splash pad at Memorial Park.