Coins gambled 'multiple times' a year

2008-02-21 14:57:27

How many times have your coins been through a poker machine in the last year?

If you are from New Zealand, the figure could be as high as six, according to new research.

Results from a data monitor show $900 million of the $2.4 billion put into non-casino machines was from $2 coins. This number is 6.7 times the value of all the $2 coins in use in the country, the New Zealand Herald reports.

The new research focused upon the 20,000 machines not in casinos, so it is not clear what the total figure for the country could be.

Dr Philip Townsend from the Problem Gambling Foundation also said the statistics were just an estimate, because data has not yet been gathered over the course of a whole year.

Nevertheless, a $20 note is still likely to have been through a non-casino poker machine at least once.

New Zealand has a population of approximately 4.25 million people, meaning people spend more than $500 a year on average in these machines.