Southland District Council is currently reviewing its Class 4 gambling venues policy. The Council is receiving submissions on its proposed policy until Monday 13 June.
You can provide your feedback to the Council here.
Southland District Council is retaining the current sinking lid policy, meaning no new venues can establish.
The changes being suggested are minor, including small changes to wording in the policy document.
Council has two possible options on how it could proceed. These are to:
We commend Southland District Council's decision to retain a sinking lid policy. A sinking lid is the best policy to control the growth of gambling and minimise harm.
We are encouraging the Council to adopt a sinking lid policy that prohibits transfers of licenses, relocations or club mergers.
30 of the 67 TLAs around New Zealand have already introduced sinking lid policies. This is partly driven by strong public opinion about harm and partly TLA’s concern to promote community wellbeing. This is consistent with the purpose of the Gambling Act 2003 and section 4 where the definition of gambling harm includes harm to society at large.
PGF Group recommends that Gambling Venue policies should include the following three provisions:
According to the Department of Internal Affairs, as at 31 December 2021, around $2.8 million was lost on pokies in Southland alone. In 2020, $2.4 million was lost on pokies in Southland.
At the end of December 2021, there were 86 pokie machines located across the 14 Class 4 gambling venues in Southland.
Pokie trusts operate pokie machines in pubs, clubs and TABs. The trusts, their machines and the pubs, clubs and TABs that operate them make up the Class 4 gambling sector. It does not include casino pokies.
A sinking lid policy means that when an existing Class 4 pokie venue closes, consent for another to be established will not be given. It also means that a venue cannot increase its number of pokie machines, and that if a venue's license conditions change to reduce the maximum number of machines that it can operate, then it cannot apply to increase this number again at a later date.
In effect, it means no new pokies. Over time this will lead to a decrease in the number of venues and machines in our communities.
Under the Gambling Act 2003, Territorial Local Authorities (TLAs or Councils) are required to set local policy controlling the number and location of Class 4 gambling venues and pokie machines. These policies must be reviewed every three years, and if any changes are proposed to the policy those changes must be taken to their community for consultation and feedback.
