New Zealand gamblers lost more than $800 million on pokies last year.

LISTEN ABOVE: Associate director of Auckland University's Centre for Addiction Studies Peter Adams spoke to Andrew Dickens on Bayleys Early Edition

That's the biggest amount lost since 2012, despite there being 15,000 fewer machines across the country.

On average, the more than 16,000 machines nationwide made the same as the average full time Kiwi worker $51,900.

Peter Adams is the associate director of Auckland University's Centre for Addiction Studies and he told Andrew Dickens the country needs the number of machines to be even further reduced.

"The main things that we know of that promotes addiction is the availability of the machines, their design and the kind of environments we set up for them to play in."

He said too many interventions focus on the individual, rather than the environment.

Though if a reduction was to happen the way many charities are funded would need to changed. 

Mr Adams said many of New Zealand's charities and other organisations rely on the income from pokies.

He said a lot of things we do - including how the government gets some of its income - has become reliant on what he calls "these scungy little spaces".