New Zealand Experiences Changes In Online Gambling Use

New Zealand Experiences Changes In Online Gambling Use ( Click to Enlarge )

9% of New Zealand’s frequent online gamblers claim that they have started gambling more often since the government-imposed lockdown, as a result of boredom during the coronavirus pandemic.

A new study by New Zealand’s Health Promotion Agency concerning the social impact of COVID-19 collected data from 1,190 participants (mostly Pasifika and Maori) regarding their use of tobacco, online gambling products and alcohol during New Zealand’s Level 4 lockdown.

Young People More Likely To Gamble Online

Approximately 39% of participants claimed that they had gambled online since the lockdown was implemented.

Of these respondents, 50% of them claimed that they had been gambling less frequently than usual, 41% reported that their gambling habits had not changed and 9% reported that they had gambled more frequently.

The results also found that participants between the ages of 18 and 24 were more likely to report an increase in gambling (22%).

Of the participants who reported that they were gambling, 23% of them did not gamble online during the lockdown while 24% claimed that they were gambling online less frequently and 33% claimed that their gambling habits had not changed.

12% stated that they had gambled online more often and 8% stated that they had tried gambling for the first time during the lockdown period.

While the group aged between 18 and 24 were more likely to report their online gambling during the lockdown, 18% of the group aged 25 to 49 stated that they were gambling more frequently in comparison to 8% of participants aged 18 to 24.

The Reason For The Change

Of the participants who reported gambling more frequently, 51% of them said it was due to the fact that they could not visit land-based casinos while a third stated boredom as the main reason and a quarter claimed that they were gambling online in order to relax.

28% of the group claimed that they were gambling more frequently due to financial concerns.

Lotto New Zealand reported recently that they had received an influx of approximately 125,000 new customers at the end of March, which doubled their online sales.

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