Gambling declines in New Zealand during lockdown

Market research shows that half of gamblers wagered less while the country was on Covid-19 lockdown.

New Zealand.- A market research company has said that gambling has declined in New Zealand during lockdown measures to fight Covid-19.

Nielsen, alongside the New Zealand government’s Health Promotion Agency, said that half of consumers in the country gambled less than usual during the lockdown.

The report, based on the responses of 1,190 people over the age of 18 in New Zealand, says that 39 per cent (461) took part in some form of gambling activities from when the Kiwi government initiated lockdown measures in March.

Of those people, only 9 per cent said they had gambled more than usual, while 41 per cent played at the same level us normal. Most importantly, 50 per cent of people claimed to have played less during the lockdown.

The report also suggests that gambling remained consistent across all age groups. The only sharp increase was amongst 18 to 24-year-olds, where 22 per cent said they had gambled more than usual.

New Zealand has become one of the first countries in the world to successfully overcome Covid-19 and has since eased lockdown measures in the country.