Final Sky City Convention Centre Deal Angers Locals

Sky City and Premier John Key have finally come to a settlement with regards to the terms of their convention centre deal. In return for Sky City spending $402 million to build Auckland’s new convention centre, the casino operator will be granted permission to install nearly 300 new games and will have its license extended.

The deal will go ahead as planned, even though the Auditor General confirmed that the deal was not entirely fair to other bidders. After the Auditor General weighed in, local residents requested that the deal be abandoned – but neither party would be deterred. Now, they have settled on a final plan – and residents are still incensed.

Sky City will spend $315 million on the construction of the centre and $87 million on land costs. In return, the casino will receive 230 new pokies and 40 new table games. The casino’s license will also be extended from 2021 to 2042.

“Sky City has been given preferential treatment from whoa to go and the Government has even bent the immigration visa rules to deliver rich gamblers to the casino,” says Rt Hon Winston Peters. “We can see little good coming from this shabby, seedy, money grubbing deal”.

It is likely that residents will protest the deal. Kiwis are not at all impressed with the terms of the deal, and they will fight to ensure that it does not go forward.

New Zealand Gambling Spending Falls

In New Zealand, gambling spending is on the decline. According to statistics released by the Department of Internal Affairs, Kiwis spent 4% less on gambling than they had in the previous year. Local responsible gambling advocates have taken this to mean that residents are becoming more aware of the potential harms of gambling.

As a result of the fall in spending, several other gambling-related numbers have taken a dive. For example, the number of gaming license holders has fallen to 353 from 359 in 2012. The total number of pokies has also declined. In 2012, there were 18 001 pokies; now, there are just 17 542.

While a decline in spending may be negative for gaming clubs and the gambling industry as a whole, it is positive thing for local residents. Over the course of the past few years, gambling addiction numbers have climbed to an all-time high in New Zealand. Local politicians have been working hard to reduce problem gambling rates, and their efforts are paying off.

The introduction of MP Te Ururoa Flavell’s Harm Reduction Bill seems to have alerted locals to the harms of gambling. The bill has received a great deal of media attention, and it is likely to have discouraged some punters from wagering on pokies in the past year.

DIA Investigates Pokie Fraud

Three pokie trusts and several racing industry professionals are currently under investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs. They have been suspected of collaborating to fraudulently award pokie grants to ineligible organizations and individuals.

The three organizations that have been suspected of fraud are: New Zealand Community Trust, Infinity Trust and Bluegrass Trust. These groups have allegedly manipulated pokie grant applications, committing fraud worth $30 million in grants. At the centre of the scandal is racing trainer Mike O’Brien. It is believed that he worked together with the trusts in order to secure funds for himself and his clubs.

The Department of Internal Affairs has assigned 50 staff members to the case, and has issued 10 search warrants. O’Brien’s home and hotel room were the first locations to receive warrants, and his father’s home will also be searched. Warrants were also issue for pokie trust offices and the homes of pokie trust employees.

This is not the first time that local pokie trusts have been in trouble for misappropriating funds. This has happened many times before, with Bluegrass Trust and Infinity Trust both involved in previous scandals. It seems that there is a serious need to tighten up monitoring for New Zealand’s pokie trusts.

Pokies Spending in New Zealand Declines

Across New Zealand, politicians are throwing their support behind a new Harm Reduction Bill. This newly proposed legislation aims to reduce the potential harm that can be caused by pokies, by reducing the overall number of pokies in the country. Although the bill has yet to be passed, it seems to be working already, as Kiwis are spending less on poker machines.

According to statistics, pokies spending in New Zealand has dropped by 3.1% across the country. In 2011, New Zealand pokie players spent $866 million and these numbers dropped to $844 million by the time 2012 had ended.

Gaming experts speculate that the decline in pokies spending is likely due to the Harm Reduction Bill. Even though its provisions have yet to take effect, the bill has received a great deal of press in the local media. It has brought attention to the potential harms of poker machine gambling and it seems that this news alone was enough to get many residents to adjust their spending habits.

The drop in spending could also be attributed to the overall decline in poker machines across New Zealand. 463 pokies were removed from the community in 2012, as a result of local sinking lid policies. With fewer pokies to play, some residents are likely to have stopped playing altogether, contributing to the decline in spending.

Sky City Partners With HP In Three NZ Cities

Even in the land-based gambling market, there is a huge demand for sophisticated technological software for players. Local casino operator Sky City has decided to meet this demand by teaming up with HP to offer players some great new computer systems to take advantage of while they play, and the new services are expected to change the country’s gambling market.

One of the biggest changes that Sky City Auckland, Queenstown and Hamilton will experience is the introduction of wireless internet throughout the casino. Even in their hotel rooms, players will have access to wireless internet capability so they can catch up on emails and even play some online poker when they’ve tired of the gaming floor.

VIP members are also given the added option of being able to set betting limits. Players with loyalty cards can now take part in ‘voluntary pre-commitment’ programs, much like the systems that the Australian government is considering implementing. When players approach their limits, warning messages appear on the screen to let them know. Allowing players to limit how much they spend before they play is believed to help curb problem gambling numbers across the country.

Councils Mull Sinking Lid Policy

In New Zealand, politicians are getting tough on poker machines. In addition to the introduction of the new Harm Reduction Bill, city councils want to introduce sinking lid policies to further reduce the number of pokies in their jurisdictions. Auckland City Council is currently in the process of hammering out the details of its own sinking lid policy, which put strict limits on how many poker machines can exist in the area.

As it stands, local councillors have voted for the strictest option. They have requested that, in addition to reducing the number of poker machines over time, the sinking lid policy should also prohibit poker machines from being moved. This means that venues that have relocated cannot bring their pokies with them and venues cannot sell their machines to other locations.

One exception that councillors have supported is allowing clubs to merge, in order to ensure that they stay afloat. However, politicians believe that clubs with poker machines should not be able to move their games to clubs that do not have pokies – even if they merge. There is some debate over this provision, but many politicians are in support of it.

Sports Organizations Receive $1 Billion from NZ Pokies

In New Zealand, many not-for-profit organizations rely on profits generated by poker machines in order to operator. So, it is no wonder that some groups are upset that the new Harm Reduction Bill aims to give local city councillors the power to decide where grant money goes – as it could leave plenty of sports clubs without funding.According to a new report, sports clubs seem to be so passionate about the Harm Reduction Bill as they have received more than $1 billion from pokies profits over the course of the past seven years. In 2011 alone, rugby clubs received $27 million while football groups were given $10 million.

“The bill doesn’t take away the right of any sports club or local community group to do what they want to,” says MP Te Ururoa Flavell, who authored the bill.

The Harm Reduction Bill is aimed at benefitting the local community; however , sports organizations are worried that it will interfere with their finances. It simply means that sports clubs will have to be less dependent on poker machine profits, finding funding from other resources – but clubs do not seem prepared to take that step.

Hearing Highlights Concerns of Harm Reduction Bill

New Zealand’s Harm Reduction Bill has gained quite a lot of support thus far – but there were always going to be some concerns. Many of these issues were expressed at a recent hearing for the bill, as organizations stepped forward to voice their concerns.

The Harm Reduction Bill provides local city councils across New Zealand with the ability to limit the number of poker machines that exist in a particular jurisdiction. The bill also aims to increase the amount of money that each poker machine donates to charity, which has been a significant source of the bill’s support thus far.

At the hearing, however, many organizations expressed some concerns about the potential funding scheme. While they support the fact that local councils can limit the number of poker machines, they are wary of the same councils allocating funds. Some organizations are worried that their funding will be significantly cut should this become a provision of the Harm Reduction Bill in New Zealand.

So, it seems as though it is back to the drawing board for the commission. Another hearing will be held later in the year to determine the effectiveness of the amendments.

Gamble Free Day Highlights Concerns About Sky City

Gamble Free Day took place yesterday in New Zealand and, in addition to raising awareness about problem gambling, the day also provided The Greens with the opportunity to raise concerns about Sky City’s new pokies deal. The political party argued that we have heard quite a lot about the financial end of the deal, but not very much about its social impacts, and The Greens would like to have more attention paid to this aspect.

“What we’ve heard is that pokie deals will pay for the convention centre, but it’s not taking into account the other costs that all of us have to pick up,” says Denise Roche of The Greens.

Ideally, The Greens would like the local government to conduct some research into the social effects of bringing up to 500 new poker machines into the country. With increased availability of the machines, the political party believes that problem gambling rates will also rise, and the local community needs to learn a bit more about the social end of the deal.

Gamble Free Day present the perfect platform for the announcement of these concerns. Now, the general public is aware of the potential harm of the deal, and they can spread the word.

NZ Wants to Spend $55 Million on Harm Reduction

New Zealand has been working hard on its gambling harm reduction lately. In addition to launching a Harm Reduction Bill, the local government is considering spending $55 million on a strategy for promoting safe and responsible gambling in the country.

According to a recent report in Australia’s Herald Sun, the New Zealand government wants to take a new approach to gambling reform. Rather than focusing on betting limits and prevention programs that place the onus on the player, the government wants to place an emphasis on counselling and public health.

Starting recently, gambling addiction is being treated as a public health concern. As such, local politicians want to make changes to medical services that reflect this. This would mean that more counselling and treatment services would be made available to problem gamblers and their loved ones.

Gambling research will also be a significant part of this strategy. As it stands, very little research has been done to truly understand how gambling addiction can be prevented and treated and the New Zealand government wants to change this.

The cost of the new program will be provided by casino and pokies club operators. It seems fair that gambling venues support harm reduction measures, and we hope that there won’t be very much resistance.