Auckland councillor Josephine Bartley's mum was a gambling addict and regular visitor to SkyCity casino.
When news came yesterday that the company could lose its gambling license after a former customer complained the casino did not comply with requirements relating to the detection of instances of continuous play, it felt incredibly personal to her and welled up painful memories.
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) yesterday announced it was lodging an application for SkyCity's casino operator's licence to be temporarily suspended in the wake of a customer complaint.
The DIA's secretary alleges in the application that the casino "did not comply with requirements in its SkyCity Auckland Host Responsibility Programme relating to detection of incidences of continuous play by the customer".
Bartley joined Breakfast this morning, recalling the harm her mum's addiction had caused their whānau.
"My mother was a problem gambler ... it took my family to hell and back," she began.
"I often joke that my family are shareholders of SkyCity because we lost our family home because mum mortgaged that to the hilt, and it all went into the casino."
When Bartley heard about a potential 10-day suspension of the casino's license, the word "comeuppance" came to her mind.
"You do what you can, you control their budget, you pay their bills, but it is an illness. There is nothing you can do to make them stop, they just keep going and going."
She said her mum, who died four years ago, gambled at the casino and other venues.
Problem Gambling Foundation marketing and communications manager Andree Froude joined the programme alongside Bartley and praised her openness about addiction within her family.
"We don't talk about it enough, there's so much stigma and shame around it and we want to try and break down those barriers, so brave people like Josephine coming forward and sharing these experiences is really helpful 'cause it helps other people and it helps New Zealanders understand that this is a problem," she said.
Froude said the notion that gambling addicts are to blame for choosing to visit casinos and staying for hours "really pushes my buttons".
"It's about addictive pokie machines and harmful gambling products, not about the individual," she said.
"I think what people don't understand, particularly with pokie machines, is that the choice is actually taken away when it starts impacting your brain ... it's like a dopamine hit, and pokie machines are designed to be addictive.
"So once somebody starts gambling and if they're gambling regularly ... once they actually get addicted, their brain is telling them 'gamble more, gamble more'. The pokie machine's got bells and whistles that happen when you've nearly won, even if you haven't actually won."
Froude praised the DIA and said it was "great" that it was taking action against SkyCity, saying she had never seen a license suspension case in her 14 years with the Problem Gambling Foundation.
"It sends a clear signal to all gambling operators out there that if they don't meet their host responsibility requirements, then there are consequences and they can be tough."
Bartley agreed with this, drawing parallels between gambling addiction and alcoholism.
"The bar will cut you off when you're too drunk," she said, "the same should be with pokies."
"It's the same thing, there should be some way to cut you off."
Froude said the threshold for continuous gambling – five hours before there is intervention – is too high.
SkyCity has said it will cooperate with authorities.
SHARE ME