Early Engagement - Class 4 Gambling and TAB Venue Policy

Buller District councillors set the direction for how gambling venues will be managed in Buller at their Extraordinary Council meeting this week.

Councillors decided that they would prefer to manage the various aspects of gambling venues in Buller by setting a cap as the guiding principle for the new policy. This means that council will set a limit on how many gaming machines and venues there can be in the district and how many gaming machines are permitted per venue. Parameters would limit where venues can be located, or where venues could be relocated to in certain circumstances.

The actual limit or cap will be determined by council before the draft policy is adopted.

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 and review it every three years. The last review took place in 2018, and council has been working on the current review since 2021. Under the current legislation, the policy continues to be in effect while it is being reviewed.

Council asked for feedback from the community about options for the proposed new Class 4 Gambling and Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) Venue Policy during July and August 2023. Council received 29 submissions, of which 11 were from organisations and the remaining 18 were from community members.

At the meeting on Wednesday, council listened to six submitters who spoke in support of their submissions at the meeting.

Council presented five key issues the policy needs to address to the community during the consultation last year, with three options for managing each of these. These options are keeping the status quo, applying certain limits/caps, or putting a sinking lid approach in place.

The key issues were:

• The number of gaming machines allowed in the district
• Number of venues in the district
• Venue location for both gambling venues and board (TAB) venues
• Number of gambling machines per venue (either the nine permitted under the 2003 Act or fewer)
• Whether to allow for the relocation of venues and, and if so, under what circumstances

The 18 submissions from community members indicated a preference for a sinking lid for three of the issues, being the number of gaming machines and venues in Buller, as well as the number of machines per venue.

Concerning venue location, setting location requirements such as distance from sensitive sites, and implementing a sinking lid were evenly preferred, with 41.1% and 41.2% respectively.

All three options that could determine if and how relocating existing venues are managed received between 29% and 35% support, indicating quite an even distribution of preference.

Mayor Jamie Cleine says: “Asking the community about the options provided an opportunity to listen to our community’s voice and incorporate people’s views into the draft policy, rather than presenting a draft policy without any prior community input.”

Eleven organisations submitted detailed feedback on the options. Keeping the status quo emerged as the preferred option for the first four key issues. Regarding the relocation of existing venues, allowing the relocation of venues only in certain circumstances was the most popular option.

A spokesperson says: “A wide variety of stakeholders, both for and against Class 4 Gambling, have submitted on the options, enabling councillors to understand both points of view.”

With the direction set, council staff will draft a new proposed policy, based on setting a cap. Council will go out for a second consultation to collect the community’s feedback in 2025, once the new draft policy is finalised.

Council also considered an application by the Trust Community Foundation Ltd to increase the number of gaming machines at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Westport by three, to bring the total to nine gaming machines. Councillors listened to the applicant and three of the five submitters.

Councillors were split 50/50 when voting, so the decision to approve or decline the application has been deferred to this month's council meeting.

How should gambling venues be managed in Buller in the future? This the question council wants feedback on as part of the proposed new Class 4 Gambling and Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) Venue Policy consultation over the coming weeks.

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.

Council’s acting chief executive officer Sean Judd says: “Council wanted to include the community’s view right from the start when reviewing how gambling venues are managed in Buller.”

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

The number of gaming machines allowed in the district

• Number of venues in the district
• Venue location for both gambling venues and board (TAB) venues
• Number of gambling machines per venue (either the 9 permitted under the Act or fewer)
• Relocation of licenses to other venues either permitted or not.
• Each of these can be managed through one of three overall options. These options are keeping the status quo, applying certain limits, or putting in place a sinking lid approach.

Mr Judd says: “Councillors saw this review as an opportunity to listen carefully to our communities' voice and arrive at a solution that fits the community's needs, rather than presenting a suggestion and getting feedback on what Council thinks is the best way forward.”

Council encourages residents to read the Statement of Proposal including a detailed description of each option and key issue.

Mr Judd says: “We want to hear especially from stakeholders who have a vested interest in the topic and are approaching them directly. However, everyone is encouraged to have a read and make a submission to make sure we have a Class 4 Venue and Board (TAB) Venue Policy that fits Buller.”

The consultation period is open now and closes at 4.30pm on 21 August 2023. 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.

Mr Judd says: “This will be the base to draft a proposed new policy. With this proposed new policy Council will go out for a second consultation process to collect the community's feedback on the final policy. This will most likely be in early 2024.”

To find out more visit council’s website www.bullerdc.govt.nz. Submissions can be made in writing or online. Copies of documents and submission forms can be found at Buller district libraries, Council offices and the Karamea and Ngakawau Information Centres.