Today, a bar in a Tauranga suburb with a social conscious is giving pokies the boot.

The Matua Bar is saying goodbye to the colorful flashing lights, eager pushing of buttons and the gambling that comes along with pokie machines.

Partners April Fletcher and Jeff Hazelwood have owned the suburban bar tucked in the centre of Matua for the past two years.

When the couple first took over the bar, it had nine pokie machines, which they cut down to seven – now, they’re getting rid of the lot.

“I think they’re bad for the community,” says April, who told The Weekend Sun all pokie machines at The Matua Bar were set to be taken away today, Thursday, June 27.

“I’ve never been a fan of them.”

“We’re better off having more table space and more fun space rather than having these horrible machines in here.”

According to PGF Services, a counselling advice support service, there was $38,672,854 lost on Class 4 pokies in Tauranga in the 2022 calendar year.

In the Western Bay of Plenty, there was $8,189,666 lost.

The data is an estimate based on DIA data.

April says Matua used to be full of retired couples and older people. “Now there’s a big mix of young families and we’re just around the corner from the school, so you don’t really want to be too close with the gambling.”

Jeff is also happy to see the pokies go. Last year the Government introduced new requirements to reduce pokies harm.

“There’s new regulations that came through and you’ve got to go and check on everybody [using pokies] three times an hour,” says Jeff.

He says if players are getting cash out for the pokies multiple times, bar staff need to talk to them about their gambling habits. “We are not trained as counsellors or anything like that, so it’s a bit on the nose.”

The owners don’t believe they will take a financial hit by ridding their bar of the pokie machines.

On the contrary, they think the absence of pokie machines will entice more people to frequent their establishment.

“A few customers had an issue [with gambling] and wouldn’t come to the bar because they wouldn’t want to be tempted by the machines. So those people will come back,” says April.

“When we’ve asked our regulars and said: ‘Are you going to be upset if we take the machines out’? They go: ‘No – it’s a great idea’. Then they won’t be tempted to play them,” says April.

“I think it will become a more family-friendly pub because you’re not trying to shield your children from the gambling side of it.”