Pokies removed as gambling declines in South Canterbury
Stuff co.nz 21 October 2015
A declining interest in gambling has had two South Canterbury bars stripped of their gaming machines.
The move has prompted a mixed reaction from publicans, who say the bulk of their customers were not problem gamblers.
Punters in the Timaru District poured more than $5 million into gambling machines between January and June this year, according to figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs.
However, that was a drop of more than $100,000 from the same period in 2014.
Both the Wolseley Hotel in Winchester and The Jolly Potter in Temuka have had their gaming machines removed after they failed to bring in enough revenue.
Wolseley Hotel co-owner Dianne Herbert said she had received a lot of positive feedback from patrons since the “anti-social” machines were taken away at the end of September.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/73228651/pokies-removed-as-gambling-declines-in-south-canterbury
