It is well known that the people “down under” likes to gamble, however a new report from the Department of Internal Affairs in New Zealand shows that the amount being played for is increasing. In total New Zealander’s betted for $2 billion on the four main gambling forms in the 2012/13 financial year.
The overall amount is an increase of $7 million compared to the year before, which is not a massive increase but still a decent amount. Sports betting and TAB racing increased from $283 million to $294 million, which is a 4% increase in revenues compared to the year before.
Lotteries and scratch cards went up 3.1% from $419 million to $432 million, casino games went up 2.1% from $509 million to $520 million, while slot machines in bars, clubs and pubs went down 3.3% from $854 million to $826 million.
Despite overall increases in the revenues, the numbers are actually declining when taking inflation into consideration. This causes concern for the New Zealand government, who are looking for ways to stabilize the revenues with the inflation, so that they can be assured that the tax money will remain stable as well.