Bradford Sue: Gambling Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
Bradford Sue: Gambling Bill — Instruction to CommitteeCWH In Committee 
[Volume:611;Page:8495] 
SUE BRADFORD (Green) 
: 
 I will pick up on what the Minister was just talking about regarding the Lotteries Commission. While I have not agreed very much with the Minister at all today on this bill I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Government the Department of Internal Affairs and the Lotteries Commission on some of the changes that are being made. I think the reforms they are making to the Lotteries Commission are great and as Mr Hawkins says they are aimed at stopping the rot. That is why however I think it is such a pity that in this part of the bill we see a provision on Supplementary Order Paper 132 from the same Minister that will start the rot inside the Lotteries Commission of introducing and allowing the commission to allow remote interactive gambling and gambling machines. 
 That will allow the Lotteries Commission to enter the Internet world of gambling and to conduct lotteries via gaming machines. I do not know whether the Government has really seriously considered or looked at the overseas literature particularly from comparable countries to New Zealand like Australia or the United States to see the impact of that and what those countries are doing about it. I am really sorry that the Government has chosen to go with its erstwhile friends from United Future on this issue. 
Internet gambling has become such a problem in the United States that both the Congress and the Senate have moved on bills that would ban United States banks and financial institutions from transferring money to Internet gaming sites. The number of websites there has gone from 25 in 1997 to around 1800 now. It is the most addictive kind of gambling—it can be done any time of the day or night; there are no limits no bars and no stopping—and there is a concern in that country that athletes are even betting on their own sporting games. The possibilities for corruption are becoming even greater. It is the No. 1 cause of problem gambling for young people in the United States and it is very easy for young people to get hold of their parents’ credit cards or to acquire credit cards by other means. 
Marc Alexander 
: So what’s the solution? 
SUE BRADFORD 
: The solution I say to Mr Alexander is not to allow it. [ 
Interruption 
] Well there is no reason that the Government through the Lotteries Commission has to legislate for it to happen. 
Youth gambling which Internet gambling promotes is strongly associated in this country and elsewhere with substance abuse depression thinking about suicide anxiety criminal behaviour—obviously that includes stealing money to support the habit—poor performance at school and disruptions to relationships. We have enough problems with youth crime mental illness and addiction at the moment without making the situation worse. Preliminary research in this country indicates that we already have a huge problem with adolescent gambling despite the fact that theoretically at least adolescents are not supposed to be gambling. A study of 425 high school students indicated that the rates of gambling problems among them are between 12 and 23 percent and young people from lower socio-economic groups are more likely to be involved. It is a real pity that the Government is going ahead and allowing that kind of pernicious gambling to proceed. 
A number of credit card companies overseas are starting to block payments to online gaming companies that are losing too much money from losing bets that are not paid. One way to control it is to pass a law that makes Internet gambling debts non-enforceable. That is a way of undercutting the industry. So not only can we stop it by opposing this critical amendment that the Minister is putting up but we could also amend the bill to make debts non-enforceable which would undermine the very industry that thrives on this stuff. In Australia it has been made an offence for a person to provide Internet gambling to anyone in Australia regardless of where it is provided from. That country is taking absolutely the opposite direction to the one this Government is taking. 
Finally I note there have been a lot of media releases and communications to all MPs I am sure about this bill over the last couple of days—much of it from church organisations and community organisations. The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services is appalled at this amendment which allows the Lotteries Commission to promote interactive gambling. Major Campbell Roberts who I am sure is well-respected by everyone in this House said: “This measure is potentially highly destructive. Communities and families will be put at much greater risk of problem gambling.” The church and community groups in this country who work at the hard end of the problem-gambling situation are very clear that we do not need yet more legislation and another Government that promotes the most pernicious types of gambling. Organisations like that see the negative effects of problem gambling constantly and we should listen to what they say.