The Waimate District Council members have voted in favour of the introduction of the so-called “sinking lid policy” as part of some changes being brought to the district’s gambling policy. Local gambling venues, however, will be given the opportunity to relocate under the provisions of the new rules.
At a meeting that took place earlier this week, the council officially adopted the new policy that has come as a replacement to the TAB Board Venue Policy 2018 and the Gambling Venue Policy 2018.
As of November 2022, there have been two class 4 gambling venues and 16 electronic gaming machines in operation in the District of Waimate. According to information included in a report issued by Carolyn Johns, the community and strategy group manager of the Council, the previous policy included a limit of 20 electronic gaming machines, while no new class 4 or TAB venues were allowed in the district. Relocation of venues was also not permitted under the provisions of the previous policy.
In her report, Ms Johns explained there were limited ways a District Council is able to affect gambling-related harm. As she noted, one of them was preventing new venues from operating, and therefore reducing the opportunity for gambling to occur on the territory of the district. This could be executed by cutting the overall number of electronic gaming machines that are permitted to operate there.
Sinking Lid Policy Seeks to Automatically Reduce Gaming Machines Cap
The sinking lid policy is set to see the aforementioned limit decrease automatically when a venue surrenders its license. Apart from that, the Waimate District Council members also voted to retain rules that are aimed at preventing new permits from being issued for new class 4 or TAB establishments in the region and agreed to allow venues to relocate their applications in case they meet the criteria.
In December 2022, the Timaru District Council faced criticism of the Problem Gambling Foundation after councillors voted in favour of the existing gambling policy and rejected the implementation of a proposed sinking lid policy.
The gambling policy of the Waimate district got subject to public consultation, with two options provided to the submitters. On one hand, they could retain the current policy or, on the other hand, they could introduce a new sinking lid policy that was, in fact, the preferred option of the Council.
A total of four submissions on the matter were received, with all of them supporting the implementation of the sinking lid policy. Two of the submissions, however, did not back the proposed permission for the relocation of class 4 gambling and TAB venue licenses under the explanation that such a relocation does not effectively support the reduction in the number of electronic gambling terminals available in the community.
Currently, 29 of the overall 67 territorial authorities in New Zealand have similar policies, with the measures being unveiled to ensure better protection for the community.
- Author
Daniel Williams
