Stories & Opinions

There is a familiar kind of gambling in Aotearoa New Zealand that barely feels like gambling at all. A Powerball ticket goes into the supermarket trolley. A mate checks the TAB odds before the rugby.

A casino no longer needs a casino floor. On a phone, it can be open between messages or while someone is watching television. The technology is impressive.

A West Auckland man carried a $20.1 million Lotto ticket around in a book for nearly two months without knowing it had won. In Auckland's city centre, John Kemp was going to work while sleeping outside the Central Library after losing his accommodation to pokie gambling. One man had a fortune waiting to be claimed; the other was trying to get through the night.

A betting app shows the stake, the result and the balance. It doesn't show the power bill paid late, the student-loan money used to chase a loss, or the argument someone avoids by hiding another deposit. A wager now takes seconds: a punt on the bus, online pokies after midnight, another deposit before work.