The Government is being urged to crack down on gaming machines targeting the poor.
Official figures show proceeds from the pokies for the year to September have jumped by 3.4 percent to $878 million, despite the number of machines being reduced by 504.
Problem Gambling Foundation chief executive Paula Snowden says much of the profit comes from low socio-economic areas.
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"The national amount [of money] it's taken is huge. In the poorest areas of New Zealand it's one machine to 74 people and in affluent New Zealand it's one machine per 465 people.
"These machines, in this public club environment, are addictive by design. It's not an accident... people get caught and they don't know how to get out. We really need to, as a society, protect people from that exploitation."
New Zealand currently has 15,717 gaming machines.
Newshub.
