The former Welcome Bay Sports Bar and Grill aka Welcome Bay Tavern is now operating as an alcohol-free Welcome Bay Pool Hall. Photo / Sandra Conchie
The former Welcome Bay Sports Bar and Grill aka Welcome Bay Tavern is now operating as an alcohol-free Welcome Bay Pool Hall. Photo / Sandra Conchie
The Welcome Bay Sports Bar and Grill lost its liquor licence after alcohol law breaches.
It was reopened as an alcohol-free pool hall but has now lost its licence to have pokie machines.
The Department of Internal Affairs said the licence was automatically surrendered and it was not satisfied the venue met requirements.
A tavern that became a pool hall after being stripped of its liquor licence has now lost its licence to continue operating pokie machines.
The Welcome Bay Sports Bar and Grill, also known as the Welcome Bay Tavern, lost its liquor licence in March after various liquor law breaches, including its attached bottle shop selling alcohol to an underage person.
The venue is owned by For Brothers Ltd, the sole director of which is Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal of Pāpāmoa.
He and the other shareholders, Gurwinder Bains and Parminder Singh, own various other Bay of Plenty businesses.
Dhaliwal told the Bay of Plenty Times he reopened the bar as an alcohol-free pool hall two weeks ago.
It had 12 full-sized pool tables and offered basic food such as chicken nuggets and hot chips.
When it was a tavern, the business had 18 pokie machines, owned by Akarana Community Trust.
An application was made to gambling sector regulator, the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), to amend the gambling licence to allow the pool hall to continue operating pokies.
Dhaliwal said he learned on Monday this was unsuccessful.
For pubs and clubs to hold a licence, they must show that the venue’s main use is something other than gambling.
Dhaliwal said he did not intend to try to appeal the DIA’s decision. He planned to open the pool hall once a week on a Thursday, and perhaps one other day, to help “keep some income” coming in.
Former Welcome Bay Tavern reopened as Welcome Bay Pool Hall after losing its liquor license. Photo / Sandra Conchie
“We’re just trying to save the business and the jobs of two staff working in the pool hall. There is considerable cost in closing down and winding up a business.”
He said if the pool hall profits failed to meet the venue’s operating costs, they may close the doors, sell off chattels and wind up the business.
Vicki Scott, DIA’s director of gambling regulatory services, said to hold a class 4 gambling licence, a venue must show that its main use is something suitable other than gambling.
Without a liquor licence, the tavern “could no longer meet that requirement”.
Scott said the department was “not satisfied” the proposed new venue met the requirements of the Gambling Act.
Owners of the Welcome Bay Tavern reopened the premises as the Welcome Bay Pool Hall after the tavern's liquor licence was cancelled in March. Photo / Sandra Conchie
“Nor was it satisfied that the individuals involved in the gambling operation were suitable, given the breaches that led to the loss of the liquor licence.”
She said the pokie machines had not been played for more than 28 days, meaning the licence was “automatically surrendered”. This could not be appealed.
“Akarana Community Trust applied to DIA just two working days before the original 28-day deadline and were given an extra month’s inactivity to allow us to make a full and fair assessment of its application.”
A new licence application for the venue to operate gaming machines could be made “at any time”.
Welcome Bay Pool Hall has not been able to obtain a gambling licence. Photo / NZME
Akarana Community Trust spokesman Janu Singh said the trust “never intended” to operate the original 18 gaming machines at the pool hall, but had proposed to keep two machines running during pool competitions.
Singh said the DIA was concerned about the risk of minors having access to these machines and Akarana intended to address this by making the entire venue R18.
Singh said the DIA had issued a “proposed decision” 16 minutes before the licence was deemed to be surrendered.
In his opinion: “Akarana has had insufficient time to respond and address the department’s concerns, and the right to host gaming machines at the venue is not lost.
“Having the ability to play a gaming machine in an alcohol-free environment should be seen as a positive, not a negative.”
Problem Gambling Foundation spokeswoman Andree Froude said she had earlier raised concerns with DIA if the licensee was allowed to retain its gaming licence give breaches of alcohol host responsibilities.
Froude said she was “thrilled” by the DIA decision as it sent a clear message to all licensees.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
