Slot machine spending in New Zealand showed a 2.3 percent increase in the first quarter of 2018, according to data from the Department of Internal Affairs. Spending totalled NZ$212 million (US$149 million) for the quarter ending 31 March 2018 compared to NZ$207.3 million in the same quarter a year earlier. There was also a small decline in the number of pokies licenses held, the number of venues with machines as well as the number of machines in continued use from past years. For the year ending March 2018, pokie machine takings rose by 2.5 percent to NZ$888 million.