CASINO & GAMING NEWS

WELLINGTON: Two of Waikato’s largest gaming societies have launched an app designed to take the shame and paperwork out of asking for help with a gambling problem. The move comes as local gaming businesses face fierce international competition from 15 online casinos due to launch for New Zealand customers in 2026. Problem-gambling organisations have expressed fears the app may be a ruse to get people’s personal details, but the developers say all information goes to the Salvation Army, a trusted third party that also offers gambling counselling. Grassroots Trust and the Lion Foundation, which operate 19 Class 4 venues in the Waikato region, will be piloting the MyChoice app, with a view to making the software available to an even wider self-exclude. Problem gamblers can self-exclude themselves from venues, but have to complete exclusion paperwork and get their photo taken. MyChoice, according to the designers, allows people to quietly exclude themselves from gaming rooms by scanning a QR code on their phones rather than having to speak to venue staff and fill out forms in triplicate. Participating venues will have a poster with a QR code that problem gamblers can scan, complete a self-exclusion form digitally, and set an exclusion time period. Their information is sent to the national exclusion database managed by the Salvation Army. MyChoice complements the system for exclusions, and punters with gambling problems are still encouraged to ask venue staff for help if they need it. They can also choose counselling and support at the same time if they wish. Grassroots Trust executive chairman Martin Bradley says the present system is “antiquated” and, for many, too daunting. “For someone already under huge stress, that’s a massive barrier. MyChoice lets people take that step privately and with dignity, on their own terms.” Although Grassroots Trust and the Lion Foundation are rivals in the Class 4 sector – venues apart from casinos that have pokie machines – both say harm minimisation is a shared responsibility. Lion Foundation chief executive Tony Goldfinch said collaborating on MyChoice was an easy decision. “If we can make it simpler and less confronting for someone to say ‘I need a break’ or ‘I need help’, then we should. MyChoice is about removing the awkwardness, so people can act earlier, before things spiral.” Jason Alexander, chief operating officer of Māori health organisation Hapai Te Hauora, said the paper-based system of self-inclusion was “clunky”. “Self-exclusion is a tool whānau have to protect themselves from gambling harm, but right now it’s clunky and hard to navigate. With the introduction of up to 15 online casinos, it’s about to become even easier to gamble, which is why we need one simple national platform where you can go once and exclude yourself from all the places you can gamble, online and in person – a truly centralised self-exclusion system,“ Alexander said. Māori communities had problem-gambling rates that were three to four times higher than non-Māori, he said. Colin Bridle, of Feed Families Not Pokies, is not convinced the app stacks up. With the Government about to sell 15 licences to overseas gambling organisations, the timing couldn’t be worse. Act deputy leader Brooke van Velden’s Online Gambling Bill will regulate online gambling in New Zealand, with fines up to $5 million for unlicensed operators. The bill is before Parliament’s governance and administration select committee, and foreign companies are likely to dominate New Zealand’s internet gambling market when the licences are granted in February 2026. “The pokie machines are there to line someone’s pocket,” Bridle told the Herald. “And it’s not the person playing the machine. “I see pokie machines as blood money. I have had someone commit suicide because of a gambling habit and others who have lost thousands. “That’s what is motivating me and the Feed Families Not Pokies group to put a stop to these machines, which are destroying the poorer communities in this country.” Andree Froude, of the Problem Gamblers Foundation, said she could not comment on the app until she had understood how it worked and to ensure people’s private information was safe. “Venue exclusion is an important intervention tool for people who want to take a break from gambling on pokies or stop completely. It is a valuable and effective tool for preventing gambling harm. ” If the Hamilton pilot proves successful, Grassroots Trust and the Lion Foundation would like to roll out MyChoice nationally across all Class 4 societies and venues. They say the launch of MyChoice couldn’t be more timely, with the Government set to auction 15 online casino licences in 2026, and the regulations around how online operators must manage harm minimisation yet to be released. Bradley says the shift online raises serious questions about how self-exclusion will work across various forms of gambling. “We take harm minimisation very seriously. In fact, it’s our No 1 strategic priority,” he says. “The thought of someone who is excluded from one of our sites being able to gamble away thousands of dollars on a regulated online casino next year keeps me up at night. “The regulator [Department of Internal Affairs] must ensure this can’t happen – it’s absolutely critical that any new online casino licence holders commit to ensuring people with existing exclusions in New Zealand cannot access their platforms. MyChoice has been developed with that capability in mind and will give users the capability to self-exclude from those online casinos once they are licensed."