Proposed new Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venue Policy for Buller

The Buller District Council, under the Gambling Act 2003 and the Racing Industry Act 2020, must have a Class 4 Venue and Board (TAB) Venue Policy, that needs to be reviewed every three years.

Although there are several types of gambling available in the district including Lotto, scratch tickets, and – increasingly - internet gambling, Council only has regulatory powers with regard to Class 4 gambling machines (also called pokies), Class 4 gambling Venues, and Board (TAB) Venues (stand-alone TABs).

The current Class 4 Gambling and Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) Venue Policy 2018 therefore focuses on non-casino gaming machines (pokies) and Board (TAB) Venues (stand-alone TABs).

It specifies the circumstances under which gaming machine venues may be established in the district and specifies the maximum number of gaming machines that may be operated at that venue. The Policy also determines how and under what circumstances new stand alone TABs may be established in the district.

The policy needs to be reviewed every three years and this review is an opportunity to ask the community for their opinion on how gambling and TAB venues should be managed in the future.

It's important to understand that the policy only covers where a venue can be located and how many machines can be in the venue (if it is decided to set a limit less than the 9 legally allowed). The Department of Internal Affairs is then responsible for granting the actual licence to operate gambling machines in that venue if the venue is given approval by the Council under this policy.

The policy needs to be reviewed every three years and this review is an opportunity to ask the community for their opinion on how gambling and TAB venues should be managed in the future.

In March 2023, Council considered a report on the Class 4 Gambling venues and Agency (TAB) venues policy which is due for review. The information in the report related to the social impacts (both positive and negative) of gambling on the community as well as some of the options for reviewing the policy C, Staff were asked to prepare a Statement of Proposal that set out the various options which would form the basis for community consultation as required under the legislation.

This Statement of Proposal was presented to the Regulatory and Hearings Committee in May 2023 and was approved. Various options for managing gambling venues are set out in the Statement of Proposal and the Committee decided that all the options should presented to the community for feedback.

The consultation period closed at 4:30pm Monday 21 August 2023. 

If you indicated on your written submission that you wish to speak to your submission - to present your information to Councillors - you will be given a time slot to do so during the hearing that Councillors will hold, most likely in October.

After considering all submissions, Council will agree on one option per key issue and make changes to the current Class 4 Gambling and Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) Venue Policy 2018 in November 2023. This will be the base to draft a proposed Class 4 Gambling and TotalisatorAgency Board (TAB) Venue Policy for Buller.

Once this proposed policy is finalised, Council will go out for a second consultation process to collect the communities feedback on the proposed policy. This will most likely be in early 2024.

After considering all submissions that came in this second consultation round, Council will make any further changes to the proposed Class 4 Gambling and Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) Venue Policy.

The final policy will be adopted by Council and come into effect as soon as it is adopted.

In short, this is round one for the consultation and we will be back to ask you for your feedback on a proposed policy which will include the Council’s preferred option for moving forward.

A policy is a document which guides council’s decision making on a particular issue.  In this case council is obligated to have a policy to guide it when it is considering any applications for new venues to be used for Class 4 Gambling activities or TABs which are stand alone.

Under the Gambling Act 2003, Council’s policy: 

• Must specify whether or not Class 4 venues may be established and, if so, where they may be located within the District; 
• May specify any restrictions on the maximum number of gaming machines that may be operated at a venue, and; 
• May include a relocation policy. 

The Gambling Act 2003 sets a maximum number of nine machines for new venues. Council is able to set a lower limit through its policy. Council cannot close Class 4 gaming venues. 

Under the Racing Industry Act 2020, Council’s policy: 

• Must specify whether or not new TAB venues may be established and, if so, where they may be located within the district 

Council has identified five key issues that the policy needs to address to manage gambling in the Buller district.  

• One - The number of Gaming Machines allowed in the district.
• Two - Number of venues in the district. 
• Three - Venue location for both Gambling Venues and Board (TAB) venues. 
• Four - Number of gambling machines per venue (either the 9 permitted under the Act or less) 
• Five - Relocation of licenses to other venues either permitted or not. 

A summary of the options and issues under consideration is presented in the Statement of Proposal. Residents are encouraged to read the Statement of Proposal which includes an analysis for each option and background information.

Council is looking at various overall options for managing gambling venues in the future. These are: 

• Status Quo - Keeping the same policy we have now which has some restrictions on the location of venues but no limits on the number of machines or venues; 
• Set a cap/limit - Put a limit to the total number of gaming machines, the total number of venues, the number of gaming machines per venue, and/or limit gaming venues to certain areas across the district 
• Sinking Lid - No new gaming machines or venues permitted.  When one gambling venue closes or a gambling machine is no longer used it cannot be replaced. 

A summary of the options and issues under consideration is presented in the Statement of Proposal. Residents are encouraged to read the Statement of Proposal which includes an analysis for each option and background information.

Class 4 gambling venues are places outside of casinos (usually pubs, restaurants or clubs) where electronic gaming machines (EMGs), i.e. pokies, are operated. 

A Board (TAB) Venue is any premises owned or leased by the New Zealand Racing Board and where the main business carried out is providing racing-betting or sports-betting services. These are standalone venues and do not include TAB outlets or agencies that are additional activities of a bar or hotel, such as self-service TAB terminals.

The oversight of Class 4 Gambling venues and TAB venues sits with the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) which is responsible for the licensing of operators. The DIA also regulates, audits and investigates all types of gambling activity. 

Councils are responsible for issuing consents for venues that wish to provide Class 4 or TAB gambling services. Council Gambling and TAB venue policies specify: 

• where new Class 4 venues and TAB venues may be located; and 
• the number of machines that can operate in the venue. 

Venue policies cannot take away licences that have already been granted. Class 4 gambling and TAB operators must hold both an operator’s and a venue license.

The main purpose of the current policy is to manage the establishment of Class 4 gambling and TAB venues to minimise the adverse effects of gambling on the Buller district. 

Where venues may be established 

Buller District Council’s current policy places restrictions on the type of premises that new Class 4 gambling and TAB venues may be established being as follows: 

• The primary activity of the premises being onsite entertainment, recreation, or leisure focused on persons 18 years and over; and 

• The premises being authorised under the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 to sell and supply liquor for consumption on the premises. 

Maximum number of gaming machines 

A maximum number of gaming machines set per venue with those venues licenced after 2001 being limited to nine gaming machines. 

Applications for gambling and TAB facilities must be made to Council and these applications are available for the public to make submissions on. A hearing will be held if submitters wish to speak to submissions and council will consider all submissions. Council will consider factors such as the characteristics of the district, location of community facilities (e.g. schools and early childhood centres) and the cumulative effects of any other nearly venues.

As of March 2023 in Buller District there are a total of 72 Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs) spread across 8 separate venues. There are five venues in Westport (53 EGMs), two venues in Reefton (15 EGMs) and one venue in Karamea (4 EGMs).

Policy reviews must have regard to the social impact of gambling within the district. Gambling has both positive and negative impacts. Positive impacts relate to recreational and community funding benefits along with employment for those working at the venues. Negative impacts relate to gambling expenditure, problem gambling and the harm these problems lead to for individuals and whanau. 

There are three main areas to consider: 

• the groups and organisations that benefit from class 4 gambling by way of grants from gaming societies; 
• the populations that are disproportionately harmed by gambling, and 
• the economic and entertainment benefits for the community. 

A detailed overview of the current situation in the community in regard to the above is included in the Statement of Proposal. It includes information on: 

• Electronic Gaming Venues and Machines
• Gaming Machine Proceeds (GMP)
• Socioeconomic deprivation 
• Support Services uptake 
• Grants 

In summary the following has been identified: 

• The population of Buller has a relatively high exposure rate to gambling opportunities, particularly in Westport and Reefton. 
• Over time gaming machine profits have increased but at a rate considerably lower than the national figure. 
• The decrease in the number of machines and increase in profits indicates that players are spending longer hours playing gaming machines, betting more per game or more players are playing pokie machines. 
• Buller has an extremely high level of socioeconomic deprivation* and all current venues are located in areas with a level of 9 or 10 (10 being the highest level of social deprivation) . 
• The number of people seeking help from gambling harm advice service providers has increased rapidly in recent years. 
• A range of groups in Buller benefit from grants from gambling trusts  with sports groups benefitting the most.  

* Socioeconomic deprivation levels are based on employment, crime, housing, health, education and access to services statistics for geographical areas (based on NZ Statistics data) within New Zealand. 

The major benefit of Class 4 gambling to communities in New Zealand  is in the form of grants. Pokie trusts must pay the current minimum of 40% of GMP to community groups New Zealand wide in the form of authorised purpose grants. These are meant to benefit the community by funding non-profit organisations. 

Authorised purposes include amateur sport, charity, non-commercial purposes with community benefits, and the operation of racing. In total $1,094,969 was granted to Buller organisations from 2019 to June 2022. 

Details of which groups received grants can be found on the granted.govt.nz website (https://www.granted.govt.nz/dashboard.html).  

In Buller sport is the biggest recipient of grants – with Buller Rugby Union receiving the greatest proportion by some way with a total of $236,256 over the period. Buller Basketball Association received $65,210 and Reefton Trotting Club received $50,000 over the same period. 

While the Gambling Act requires 40% of the net proceeds from pokies to be returned to the community  e.g through grants, there’s no obligation for this money to come from the community where it was generated. This means community groups can apply for funds from a range of trusts and gaming societies – regardless of whether they’re operating machines in Buller.  

In the years 2019 to 2021 the return of GMPs directly to the Buller community was 10.3%. 

Distribution to national or regional groups also benefits people in our community who need or use the services these organisations provide locally. Unfortunately, this figure would be almost impossible to calculate. 

Therefore changing the policy and therefore potentially the income generated from gambling in Buller would not directly result in a decrease in funding for Buller community organisations. 

As part of their permit from the Department of Internal Affairs the operators must comply with any conditions that are part of the permits.  The DIA regulates, audits and investigates all types of gambling activity. 

• Statement Of Proposal Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venue Policy Review 
• Class 4 Gambling And TAB Venue Policy
• FAQs Class 4 Gambling And TAB Venue Policy Review

• 26 July 2023 - Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venue Policy out for public consultation