Annette King/Winnie delivered the tax breaks on betting (and tax write offs for the well to do)... there have been a scary amount of Ministers in the roll, starting with Fallon...
But the main reasons it's a Sunset Industry is 'the % of disposable income (in real terms) has gone down for the majority of Nzers' during the last 30+ years -the neoliberal period - on top of that it has been a Industry that has SHIT on so many of its customers.. a good example being Riccarton charging $15 for public entrance when there was NOTHING undercover!! Total Rip Off!
my tragic! is! I fecking actually care!