Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne says that the ‘public discussion document gives the public a chance to have their say’. It is the next step in the New Zealand government’s review of existing gambling laws, which ultimately aims to improve the way in which pokie funding is distributed in order to better benefit the local community.

Members of the community can read the discussion document here. Submissions can be made, which will be considered by government officials and discussed by key stakeholders, such as commercial venues, problem gambling service provides, grant recipients and societies.

“We will be looking at proposals to future-proof that funding,” Mr Dunne says. “This discussion document is an opportunity for the community to let the Government know what they think are the challenges faced by the sector, and how to ensure that we get the maximum benefit from class 4 gambling, without growing gambling and minimising harm”.

Submissions to the Department of Internal Affairs is due by Friday, August 12, 2016. You can email your submission to [email protected], or you can send it by post to:

Safer Communities Team
Policy Group
Department of Internal Affairs
PO Box 805
Wellington 6140

“The Green Party intends to implement sensible and pragmatic measures that reassert the role of public health as the primary driver of gambling regulation, rather than economic development and convention centres,” says Greens Co-Leader Metiria Turei.

One of the proposed measures is the introduction of pre-commitment cards. Since there will be 230 new pokies at the casino, The Greens believe that pre-commitment cards would help poker machine players limit their spending. Players can set limits before they begin playing, and they will receive regular updates on their spending before being locked out once they have exceeded their budgets.

The Greens are confident that this measure would be effective but Mr Key is not convinced. He has spoken out against pre-commitment cards, starting that the measure would discourage players from visiting the casino altogether. There will certainly be a fierce debate on the issue, as we are certain that The Greens will not give up easily.

South Dunedin’s new sinking lid policy aims to reduce the number of games until there are only five pokies clubs containing a maximum of 50 games. At the moment, there are 12 clubs with 168 pokies, making the rate of games 12 pokies per 1000 people.

Throughout the rest of Dunedin, there are 3.4 pokies per 1000 people, which is far below the national average of 5 games per 1000 people. There is a cap of 362 pokies in 30 venues, but some councillors want to see a stricter policy.

Councillor Richard Thomson has requested that South Dunedin’s sinking lid policy apply to the whole city. He believes that this will help to reduce problem gambling rates across all of Dunedin. As expected, club and pub owners are not on board, so there will likely be a heated debate over the issue.

Jiroh, 11, and sister Jireh, 12, spoke at the symposium to provide the audience with a look at their experience with problem gambling. Both of their parents are addicted to gambling, and they wanted to ensure that other young people in their situation develop a healthy outlook.

Jiroh read from poem, which pleaded with his parents to stop gambling and to put their children first. He stated that children are the most affected when problem gambling is present in a family, because they are often neglected. As such, they develop feelings of anger and depression.

Their performance at the symposium was inspiring. Gaming industry professionals and researchers that attended gave them a standing ovation, and they now have a better understanding of how children are affected by problem gambling.

“We really really do need to care for our most disadvantaged children,” says Victoria University professor Jonathan Boston. “They are precious, they are vulnerable and they are powerless. If we do not speak on their behalf, then they cannot”.

The Diamond Lounge is considered an open area, allowing patrons to smoke, but the Cancer Society does not agree with this definition. Last year, the Ministry of Health sent investigators to determine just how open the space was, and it was deemed an open enough space to permit smoking. Representatives of the Cancer Society continued to disagree, and have decided to take the issue to court.

According to Duncan Webb of the Cancer Society, the Ministry of Health made “a fundamental error in the investigative process.” As such, the organization wants a second opinion.

Justice Hansen will offer up his take on the issue. His decision will provide the final conclusion for the case. The Cancer Society has fought long and hard to have the smoking ban exemption removed, and this will be the organization’s last chance to prove that the Diamond Lounge should be a smoke-free area.

“There’s been quite a lot of assumption that the deal has already been done with the casino, so let’s get that out on the table loud and clear now, there has not been a deal done with SkyCity”, she said. “They were one of the consortium members in terms of operating the convention centre, there have been some subsequent discussions but certainly not a deal done.”

Van Uden addressed a room full of concerned politicians and residents last week. She announced that a deal had not yet been finalized, and that it would need to pass legislation before any property could be constructed. Van Uden also encouraged local residents to make submissions on the issue, letting the council know how they could feel about a new casino in the area.

Some residents believe that a referendum is essential in making the decision. However, van Uden is not entirely convinced. She has stated that any requests for a referendum should be made through submissions. If there enough interest, she will consider a referendum.

The Commerce Commission has recently granted SkyCity permission to purchase the gambling venue, which is currently owned by Otago Casinos. The acquisition of the casino will mean that SkyCity will own both casinos in Queenstown, but the Commerce Commission states that this will not negatively affect competition in the local gambling market.

SkyCity will further encourage competition by converting the Wharf Casino into a high roller venue. While SkyCity Queenstown caters to all types of gamblers, the new Wharf Casino will be targeted at players who are more interested in playing high-stakes games. This is a common business strategy for many local gaming operators, as VIP gambling is quite a lucrative market.

”We are focusing on upgrading our VIP offering in Queenstown, so we have an offer to complement our Horizon VIP offering in Auckland,” says CEO Nigel Morrison said.

The transition is still in its initial stages. There is no word yet on when SkyCity will begin renovating The Wharf Casino.

The deal will see SkyCity build Auckland’s new convention centre, investing $402 million into the project. In return, the casino operator will receive an additional 230 poker machines for its Auckland location, a number of new table games and an extended gambling license.

Local residents have been sceptical of the deal since it was first revealed. The Greens and other political groups tried their hardest to lobby against the deal, but it was no use. The project’s negotiations continued and its legislation has passed its first read by a vote to 59 to 61.

SkyCity CEO Nigel Morrison believes that the bill has not been well-received due to supposedly slanderous media attention. He claims that his company’s reputation is being tarnished, despite the economic benefits that the convention centre will bring into the community.

The bill will be presented to senate for a second time in November 2013.

In Christchurch, local politicians have proposed the introduction of a local alcohol policy (LAP), which would stop all nightclubs from serving alcohol after 1am. Only nightclubs within the city centre would be able to serve alcohol until 3am – and Christchurch Casino would remain the only venue that is permitted to hold a 24-hour liquor license.

Since the new nightclub will be a part of the casino, the 24-hour liquor license has been extended to the venue. So, technically, it could serve alcohol all day. If the nightclub is permitted to stay open all day, it will be the second venue is Christchurch to serve alcohol 24-hours a day.

As it stands, the nightclub will be open to individuals over the age of 20. During off-peak times, it will be an all ages venue (for other types of events). The venue is also being booked for a wide range of events in 2014, including gala dinners, corporate events and fashion shows.

The experts believe that lottery spending will increase by 8% from now until 2016. The expansion of the local lottery has encouraged more players to spend more money on tickets for draws as well as instant win games, and that trend will continue in the future. The offer of bigger and better jackpots worth multimillions will also ensure that lottery spending continues to rise.

Casino gambling is another major concern, with the team of researchers expecting spending to increase by 2.3% from now until 2016. There is an increasing number of gambling opportunities for players, especially with the news that SkyCity Auckland will be receiving 230 new poker machines as part of its convention centre deal. This will result in an increase of 8% on the number of pokies in New Zealand casinos, which is expected to lead to a rise in gambling spending as well as problem gambling rates.