New Zealand's gambling landscape presents a paradox: gaming trusts funded by pokies machines distribute hundreds of millions of dollars to community organisations annually, while pokies also cause significant gambling harm for vulnerable individuals and families. Understanding how gambling harm prevention is funded — and the inherent tensions in this system — matters for organisations working in this space and for funders thinking about gambling and its consequences.
Scale of gambling harm
Gambling disorder affects approximately 0.3-1% of the New Zealand adult population — an estimated 15,000-40,000 people at any given time, with many more experiencing lower-level harm. Gambling harm extends beyond individuals to families — financial stress, relationship breakdown, child neglect, and domestic violence are all associated with problem gambling.
Inequity in gambling harm
Gambling harm is not evenly distributed. Māori and Pacific New Zealanders are significantly overrepresented among people experiencing gambling harm — reflecting both higher exposure to pokies in their communities and cultural factors that affect help-seeking. Lower-income communities also bear disproportionate gambling harm, while contributing disproportionately to gaming revenue.
The system tension
Gaming trusts (TAB, Lotteries Commission, pokies trusts) fund significant community infrastructure — sports clubs, community halls, social services. The same machines that generate this revenue also cause gambling harm in communities. This creates an ethical tension that the sector negotiates through mandatory levies for gambling harm services.
Ministry of Health gambling harm levy
The Gambling Act 2003 requires gambling operators to contribute to gambling harm services through a compulsory levy. The levy is set by the Minister of Health and collected by the Ministry, which then funds gambling harm services through contracts with providers.
The levy funds:
- Problem gambling helpline (0800 654 655)
- Counselling and support services (community-based and residential)
- Problem Gambling Foundation services
- Maori and Pacific gambling harm services
- Research, evaluation, and workforce development
Problem Gambling Foundation
The Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand is the largest provider of gambling harm services — providing counselling (in-person and online), helpline services, and workforce development for those working with people affected by gambling harm. The Foundation receives the majority of Ministry of Health gambling harm funding.
Other providers
Several other organisations receive Ministry of Health contracts for gambling harm services:
- Maui Tu (Māori gambling harm services)
- Problem Gambling (Māori and Pacific specialist services)
- Regional counselling providers
- Digital counselling platforms
Māori gambling harm services are particularly important given the overrepresentation of Māori among those experiencing harm. Kaupapa Māori approaches to gambling harm — grounded in Māori cultural frameworks, delivered by Māori, for Māori — are funded through the Ministry of Health gambling harm levy.
Key Māori gambling harm providers include Maui Tu and various iwi-based social service organisations. The intersection of gambling harm with whānau wellbeing, economic stress, and cultural factors requires culturally specific responses.
Prevention funding
Prevention — reducing gambling harm before it becomes severe — receives less funding than treatment. Prevention programmes:
- Public awareness campaigns about gambling harm
- School-based gambling harm education
- Community awareness and early intervention
- Digital gambling harm resources
Research
New Zealand has a relatively strong gambling research base — including the International Gaming Research Unit (now at several universities) and ongoing Ministry of Health-funded research on gambling harm prevalence, help-seeking, and intervention effectiveness.
Philanthropy in gambling harm prevention is modest — largely because the sector receives levy funding that is designed to cover services. However, philanthropic investment can fund:
- Innovation beyond contracted services
- Advocacy for gambling reform
- Peer support and lived experience-led approaches
- Community-based prevention that falls outside Ministry contracts
- Research that challenges the status quo
The ethics of gaming trust funding for gambling harm organisations
Some gambling harm organisations and advocates have raised ethical concerns about gaming trusts funding gambling harm services — arguing that the same industry causing harm should not be funding the response (potential conflict of interest) and that harm services should be fully government-funded. This tension is worth considering for organisations choosing whether to seek gaming trust grants.
Gaming trusts — the organisations that distribute pokies revenue to communities — often also fund community health and social services. This creates an ironic situation where a service supporting people with gambling harm might receive funding from the very trusts whose machines cause the harm.
Most organisations navigate this pragmatically: gaming trust funding is available and real, and the communities served need services regardless of the funding source. Some organisations, however, have policies against accepting gaming trust funds on ethical grounds.
Lived experience approaches: people with personal experience of gambling harm are powerful advocates, peer supporters, and service co-designers. Funding for lived experience leadership in gambling harm is underdeveloped.
Digital harm prevention: as online gambling grows, digital harm prevention — detecting patterns of at-risk behaviour, providing in-app support, digital counselling — is increasingly important.
Family and whānau support: gambling harm devastates families as well as individuals. Family members of people with gambling disorder need support, counselling, and practical assistance. This need is underfunded.
Youth gambling prevention: as digital and mobile gaming blur with gambling (loot boxes, skin gambling, sports betting apps), youth gambling harm prevention is a growing and underfunded priority.
Tahua's grants management platform supports Ministry of Health gambling harm programme management and gambling harm service providers — with grant tracking, outcome measurement, provider relationship management, and the compliance tools that help gambling harm funders invest effectively in reducing harm for New Zealand communities.