Gambling in New Zealand is highly regulated. Casinos and pokie machine venues can’t advertise. The notable exception is Lotto, who can get away with a lot more than other gambling outlets. Can you imagine Sky City getting away with a TV advertising campaign suggesting you could “Trump up your life” by visiting the casino? Me neither.
I think given the extra lattitude that Lotto are given in their advertising it’s important that they’re upfront and transparent in their activities. I’m concerned that they are refusing to reveal how much they paid Donald Trump for their latest promotion. Newstalk ZB has the story.
Which raises the wider issue: should Lotto be treated differently to other forms of gambling like casinos and pokie venues? Are our restrictions on Lotto advertising too light, or are our restrictions on casino and pokie advertising too heavy, or is it a combination of both? Interested in your thoughts…
I’m probably in the minority for Labour fans on this blog when I say that I don’t really have a problem with Lotto advertising. I’m talking about lotto itself, not the pokies – pokies scary
There I said it. 
(Spud slips away).
I don’t really have much of an issue with lotto advertising either – but I am interested in how much they paid Trump – and it does seem to smack of double standards.
Pokies should be banned!
Could we have comment from the chair of the Lotteries Commission – is is still Judy Kirk???
Could we have comment from the chair of the Lotteries Commission – is it still Judy Kirk???
I think there should be consistent rules for gambling advertising, with the main requirement being transparency and accuracy.
What I really would love is for the TAB to lose its monopoly on sports betting. Of course people just set up accounts with Australian sites to get around it.
I hadn’t even thought about the fact that Trump would be paid for the advert, I was too busy considering that if I won the prize I would want to be able to stipulate that they could guarantee I would NOT meet Donald Trump.
Lotto is often seen as not Real Gambling. But it is.
Not all gambling is equally addictive.
There should be a general policy of a sinking lid on pokies -reducing the number of venues where they can continue to operate over time. Pokies are the major problem in gambling addiction and should be centred around a few casinos as much as possible (where there are established procedures to manage gambling addiction problems).
Weekly Lotto is not a problem, but the trend to more regular gambling options could become problematic at some point.
I guess any institution with a captive market (TAB) provides an opportunity for competition (new providers to make a profit), but the whole industry needs regulation and thus is better left as it is – with only a few major players.
I think that there needs to be a better balance, as now, Lotto have a much higher commercial advantage. They should give away gambling therapy as spot prizes </b.
I’m trying to work out the fixation with Trump. He’s been bankrupt a few times and left alot of people out of pocket, yet he is viewed as some kind of (gulp) business icon?!
Julie – nominating you for post of the week
One of the problems (and there are many) I see around pokie money is that (bearing in mind the skullduggery around payouts)it is one way that communities indavertantly give to other parts of their community for “worthy” causes. Of course some of it is given to gambling addiction agencies which is more than ironic. I am, of course, talking about sport. Uniforms for the kids team to compete in a regional comp and so on. pokies are essentially robbing Paul to give back to Paul’s community and osmetimes Paul himself… but that is too simplistic I know.
asically and simplistically Lotto is how our Govts fund things that people say they want funded without taxing us.
Sport (35m per year to SPARC)
Arts
Culcha
so on.
IF we abolish Lotto then “we” the taxpayer we will have to take up the slack OR will arts and culcha be put on the back burner again because sport is always a good seat warmer for politicians?
I meanw ould Murry McCully or Clayton Cosgrove (No offence Trevor, I know from all sides of the political spectrum you are well respected for your time as Minister of Sport) prefer to sit on a dusty hill watching RNZ or beon a Super yacht watching the America’s cup. BOTH have great cases for economic injection into NZ and one is far more widely followed globally than the other…
I digress sorry.
Tracey, in the American psyche it is not that you have failed, it’s that you have failed and tried again and finally made it. That’s why Trump is a hero. Maybe we need more of that attitude here?
But, there is quite some debate over just how much Mr Trump is really worth…..
if Trump were really that rich he wouldn’t demean himself with this crap. As Julie said, I regard the idea of meeting him as a disincentive!
BTW I have never bought a lottery ticket (and I’m not even a Presbyterian).
I bought Lotto tickets for a while each week while I was on maternity leave, as I figured that was probably out best chance to get a much needed cash injection. Until I worked out that it was in fact a cash withdrawl, every week, with no sign of any return coming anytime soon. I can understand the attraction, and I think there can be an addictive element to Lotto. For some people it gives them some hope, it’s sad that it’s false hope. I have a friend whose main chance of repaying his student loan (mostly created before the scheme got nicer in the late 1990s and 2000s) is Big Wednesday.
Thanks Tracey
This always puzzles me. I understand the govt. runs a lottery to ensure that people’s appetite for gambling is met by a regulated provider. This ensures we don’t have underground gambling. I get that much.
But why would we advertise to increase the gambling appetite. That I don’t get. Surely we should be aiming to decrease the appetite for the stupidity taxes?
As an aside, last week my 10 year old’s teacher asked each child to complete the following sentence: ‘Lotto is designed so that people _______ money’ Every child (bar my own sensible child) entered the word ‘WIN’ Perhaps some of the lottery grants should go to gambling education in schools?
BTW – nearly 50 years old and never bought a lottery ticket too. Realist or wowser?
jennifer – dont worry we have it, one of the is Mark Bryers. Its okay to risk other peoples money as long as I am ok Jack.
Gambling is gambling, lotto is no exception and it should be subject to the same rules & regulations as all other forms of gambling.
That said, can’t say I agree with all the regulation as in an ideal world I would like more emphasis placed on why people feel the need to gamble and get addicted to it in the first place.
I bought my first lotto ticket 3 years ago (also on maternity leave!) as it had some promotion thing with it. I got about $80 so bought another & continued buying one about every 3 weeks as I always got my money back and a bit more. But then I started to lose so after about 3 zero return tickets in a row I stopped as I hate wasting money.
Many people who buy lotto don’t have this logic and worse still, can’t afford the money they are wasting on it. They are often the most financially vulnerable so in that sense I can understand the need for the government to step in…especially if we are providing them with financial assistance.
Bottom line, lotto has got to be one of the most underestimated forms of gambling there is – so many people buy weekly tickets and so many never see that money again. The winner is always the Lotteries Commission. You are much better off putting your money into a basic interest earning account given that teeny tiny chance of hitting the jackpot is exactly that – a teeny tiny chance.
As for Trump – I agree with Julie. I would be stipulating NOT having to meet him as being part of my prize. The man is a moronic (albeit very lucky & now very successful) fool.
P.s as for how much Trump was paid – I just assumed it a was lot so never really gave it that much more thought. I hate lotto and I hated that promotion. Spending a week living like Trump – no thanks, my own life has much more meaning.
Tracey, so I guess you are saying that one crook makes all business people crooks? Yep, that’s the attitude I was talking about.
Of course not jennifer, you are the one who thought we needed more Donald Trumps, I merely observed that he had lost thousands of folks money.
pat, that is a very perceptive teaching question from that teacher, I shall try to remember that.
Tracey, Trump didn’t steal the money at gun point and wasn’t running a ponzi scheme. Folks decided to invest chasing higher returns and it didn’t work out for them. It happens sometimes.
I just want to know how I can get the job as head of lotteries commission? $400K last I heard, and cant be that hard to run a monopoly that gives away millions every week.
Ah, let people have their Lotto fun
Make help available to the addicts. 