The stunt was a bid to demonstrate how much money is lost every day through gambling.
Bags of fake notes were emptied at the entrance of Sky City at noon.
The money was printed with facts about gambling, and was handed out to the public.
The students hoped to raise awareness about the devastating effects of problem gambling on communities in New Zealand, in association with the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand AUT student Dafydd Barrar said the majority of New Zealanders had no idea how much money was lost and how many families were affected by problem gambling.
"When you think that up to one in five New Zealanders are affected by problem gambling, it's clear that something needs to be done," Mr Barrar said.
The students hoped the stunt would spark public debate and urged the Government to reconsider its existing legislation concerning pokie machines.
The people who were losing the money to gambling were the ones who needed the money the most, with the poorest communities having one pokie machine for every 75 people, Mr Barrar said.
Gamble-Free Day started in 2005 and has been held every year since then on September 1 to raise awareness of problem gambling in New Zealand.
