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The Problem Gambling Foundation is encouraging people to get in a submission before the end of the week on the upcoming Gambling Amendment Bill.
Spokesperson Graeme Ramsey says pokie machines are a blight on poorer communities and hurt many families.
He says while the bill seeks to make pokie trusts more accountable and transparent, it is silent on many important issues.
"I’d certainly welcome much more harm minimisation measures than are contained in the bill and the foundation will suibmit on that basis. We would like to see the machines made safer. Or they are so we can't get rid of them but there are things we can do to make them safer and to stop people developing problems, and I think that should be the focus," he says.
Mr Ramsey says Maori and Pasifika between three and six times more likely to have problems with gambling than other ethnic groups
FOR THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH GRAEME RAMSEY CLICK ON THE LINK
https://secure.zeald.com/uma/play_podcast?podlink=MjU4MzI=
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