Pubs and clubs all the way from Bluff to Kaitaia will be pausing their poker machines for an hour to coincide with Gambling Harm Awareness Week. The "pause the pokies" initiative takes place this year from third to ninth September, to raise public awareness about the harm of gambling. Over seventy venues throughout New Zealand have signed up take part in this initiative, to encourage gamblers to connect with their whanau and think about the harm of their gambling.

To find out a more about this, Darashpreet spoke to Andree Froude from Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand.