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Regulatory Subcommittee
26 March 2021
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Part
A Reports
Results of Consultation on Review of Gambling
and TAB Venue Policy
Department: Customer and Regulatory Services
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1 This
report presents a summary of the 40 submissions received on the review of the
Gambling and TAB Venue Policy (the Policy) to the Regulatory Subcommittee (the
Subcommittee).
2 Of
the 40 submissions, responses were mixed. Some submitters (38%) support the
current policy which has a sinking lid approach to the number of gambling
venues and electronic gambling machines (EGMs) in Dunedin. Some (35%) support
no limit to the number of venues or EGMs, and others (28%) suggest other
options such as capping the number of EGMs and broadening the relocation
policy.
3 Twelve
submitters wish to be heard.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
That the Committee:
a) Considers the submissions on the review of the
Gambling and TAB Venue Policy
b) Makes recommendations to the Council on the Gambling and TAB
Venue Policy.
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BACKGROUND
Legislation
4 The
Gambling Act 2003 requires all territorial authorities to have a policy stating
if it would allow new class 4 (non-casino gambling or ‘pokie’
machine) venues within its district and, if so, where they may be situated. The
policy may also limit the number of electronic gambling machines (EGM) at those
locations.
5 Matters
to be considered during development of the policy are:
· The
characteristics of the district and parts of the district
· Locations
of kindergartens, early childhood centres, schools, places of worship and other
community facilities
· The
number of gambling machines that should be permitted to operate at any venue or
class of venue
· The
cumulative effects of additional opportunities for gambling in the district
· How
close any venue should be permitted to be to any other venue
· What
the primary activity of any venue should be.
6
The Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Act 2013 requires territorial
authorities to include a ‘relocation policy’ which sets out if and
when it will grant consent for a venue to relocate within its district.
7 The
Racing Industry Act 2020 requires territorial authorities to adopt a policy on
New Zealand Racing Board venues (TABs) within its district.
8 While
the DCC must have a Policy, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) is the
licensing authority and is responsible for the granting or refusing of gambling
licences.
Policy
History
9 In
2004, the Council chose to adopt a Gambling and TAB Venue Policy. At that time
there were no restrictions on the number of venues or EGMs.
10 In
2013, the Council reviewed the Policy. A sinking lid was adopted for South
Dunedin and a cap introduced for the rest of the Dunedin area. The number of
venues and EGMs in the Dunedin area has continued to fall.
11 In
March 2018, the Council decided to extend the sinking lid to the whole Dunedin
district and to introduce a relocation clause within the Policy allowing a
venue to be relocated in exceptional circumstances.
12 In
December 2020, the Council approved the review and retention of the Gambling
and TAB Venue Policy and approved the statement of proposal for consultation.
DISCUSSION
Community
engagement
13 The
special consultative procedure was used for the Policy review, as required by
the Act. Formal consultation took place from 25 January - 26 February 2021.
This consultation period was then extended until 10 March 2021 to advise
Community Boards and provide them with the opportunity to submit as this had
been inadvertently missed during initial consultation.
14 Consultation
included information in the Dunedin City Council (DCC) website, in the Otago
Daily Times noticeboard, as well as targeted emails to stakeholders such as
corporate societies that hold a class 4 venue licence for a venue as well as
organisations representing Māori, as required by the Act. Other
stakeholders such as the Police, health providers, community trusts and those
that provide treatment and support services for problem gamblers in Dunedin
were also advised of the review and invited to submit.
Results
of Consultation
15 40
submissions were received and, of these, 25 were from organisations and 15 were
from individuals.
General Support
16 The
submission form asked: Overall, do you agree with the current Gambling and
TAB Venue Policy?
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Options
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Number
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%
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Yes – overall, agree with the current policy
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17
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43%
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No - overall, do NOT agree with the current policy
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16
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40%
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Did not complete this question
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7
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18%
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TOTAL
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40
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100%
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Table 1: Agreement with current
Policy by number and percentage
17 Of
those who responded to this question, responses were split with 43% agreeing
with the current Policy, 40% not agreeing and 18% not answering the question.
(The total percentage does not add up to 100% due to rounding.)
Support for options
18 The
submission form asked: Which option do you support in relation to the
Gambling and TAB Venue Policy?
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Options
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Number
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%
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Option 1 (status quo
and preferred option): Retain the existing policy which has a sinking lid
approach to the number of venues and gambling machines in Dunedin. The
existing policy does not allow relocation of venues unless in exceptional
circumstances.
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15
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38%
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Option 2: Do not limit
the number of venues or gambling machines anywhere in Dunedin and grant
consent for relocating gambling venues. Limit where new gambling venues may
be established.
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14
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35%
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Option 3: Other, please
specify
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11
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28%
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TOTAL
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40
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100%
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Table 2: Support for options by number and percentage
19 Of
the three options provided, 38% supported the option of retaining the existing
policy, whilst 35% support the option of not limiting the number of venues or
gambling machines anywhere in Dunedin and granting consent for relocating
gambling venues. In addition, 28% percent chose the ‘Other’ option.
Of these, a number suggested capping the number of EGM machines and some
suggested broadening the relocation policy.
General Comments
20 The
submission form asked: Do you have any other comments about the Gambling and
TAB Venue Policy?
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Options
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Number of
submitters
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Loss of community
funding with sinking lid policy
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21
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Reduce gambling harm
with sinking lid
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13
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Cap number of EGMs at
current level
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10
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Broaden relocation
policy
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5
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General comments
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26
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Table 3: Summary
of comments by number
21 The
most common topic was concern over the loss of community funding potentially
associated with a sinking lid policy (21 submitters). Other submitters
suggested support for the policy as it reduces gambling related harm (13
submitters), a cap on the number of EGMs so that community funding would not be
further limited (10 submitters) and broadening the relocation policy (5
submitters).
22 The
amount of gambling venue spend in the Dunedin area is monitored by the
Department of Internal Affairs and is reported quarterly. Since
Dunedin’s first Gambling and TAB Venue Policy was introduced in 2013
there has been a decline in the numbers of both Class 4 gambling venues and
machines. However there has not been a corresponding decline in the amount
spent on those machines. Therefore, there has been no decrease in the
amount of money available for community funding in the Dunedin district.
Amendment
to Policy
23 Since
the last review of the Policy, the Racing Act 2003 has been replaced with the
Racing Industry Act 2020. While the Policy meets requirements of the Racing
Industry Act, references to the Racing Act within the Policy will be amended to
reflect this change.
OPTIONS
24 There
are no options with this report as its purpose is to present a summary of
submissions.
NEXT STEPS
25 Next
steps are for the Subcommittee to consider consultation results, hear the
submitters and make recommendations to the Council regarding the Gambling and
TAB Venue Policy.
Signatories
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Author:
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Anne Gray - Policy Analyst
Kevin Mechen - Secretary, District Licensing Committee
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Authoriser:
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Paul Henderson - Acting Group Manager Customer and
Regulatory Services
Simon Pickford - General Manager Community Services
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Attachments
There are no attachments for
this report.
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SUMMARY OF CONSIDERATIONS
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Fit with purpose
of Local Government
This decision enables democratic local
decision making and action by, and on behalf of communities.
This decision promotes the social
well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
This decision promotes the economic
well-being of communities in the present and for the future.
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Fit with strategic
framework
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Contributes
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Detracts
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Not applicable
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Social Wellbeing Strategy
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☒
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☐
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☐
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Economic Development Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Environment Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Arts and Culture Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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3 Waters Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Spatial Plan
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☒
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☐
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☐
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Integrated Transport Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Parks and Recreation Strategy
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☐
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☐
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☒
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Other strategic projects/policies/plans
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☐
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☐
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☒
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The Policy contributes to the Social Wellbeing Strategy priorities
of vibrant and cohesive communities, connected people, and safe and healthy
people. It also contributes to the Spatial Plan priority of a liveable city
– a safe and healthy environment.
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Māori Impact
Statement
It is a legal requirement to provide notice of the
proposed policy to organisations representing Māori in the area and this
was part of the community engagement plan. Māori and Pasifika are
disproportionately represented in problem gambling statistics.
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Sustainability
This summary report for consideration has no known
implications for sustainability.
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LTP/Annual Plan /
Financial Strategy /Infrastructure Strategy
There are no implications for these documents.
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Financial
considerations
There are no financial considerations.
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Significance
This summary report is considered low in terms of the
Council’s Significance and Engagement Policy. However, it is recognised
that community views on gambling are strong and polarised.
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Engagement –
external
Consultation for was carried out using the special
consultative procedure as outlined in the Local Government Act. The Gambling
Act requires this method of consultation. Information presented in the
statement of proposal on the benefits and harm caused by problem gambling was
drawn from the DIA, Gambling and Addictions Research Centre and the Ministry
of Health. Each corporate society that holds a class 4
venue licence for a venue on the district as well as organisations
representing Māori were advised of the review, as required by the Act.
Other organisations that provide treatment and support services for problem
gamblers in Dunedin were also advised of the review and invited to submit.
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Engagement -
internal
There has been no internal engagement.
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Risks: Legal /
Health and Safety etc.
There are no known risks.
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Conflict of
Interest
There is no conflict of interest.
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Community Boards
Community Boards were advised of the review and invited to
submit.
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