By ABIGAIL CASPARI
Rotorua district councillors have overturned their decision to increase the cap on the number of poker machines in Rotorua.
The cap will remain at 380.
At last night's council meeting councillors voted against increasing the cap from 380 to 420 despite many of them voting in favour of the
increase at last month's planning and bylaws committee meeting.
When the Rotorua District Council introduced a Gambling Venue Policy in 2004 there were 518 pokie machines in the city and it was decided the number should be capped at 380, a process expected to happen gradually through premises closing. Right now there are 432 machines in use in the city with 81 not in use.
A review of the council policy by a sub-committee, which attracted 28 submissions, mostly opposed to the cap, resulted in a recommendation the cap of 380 remain. However, submitters stated 52 fewer machines would mean $750,000 less in community grants for Rotorua and councillors at last month's planning and bylaws committee meeting voted to increase the cap to 420.
Some councillors were concerned about the potential loss of community funding.
Following that meeting Councillor Janet Wepa called for the council to look at the issue again and last night she pleaded with councillors to vote against increasing the cap to 420.
The issue was strongly debated last night with some raising their voices to get their point across.
Part of the logic behind a cap of 420 was to cater for tourists but Mrs Wepa said that was a red herring and there were plenty of poker machines already. Rotorua mayor Kevin Winters agreed saying the last thing tourists wanted to do when they came to Rotorua was "go into the pokies".
Councillor Charles Sturt said he did not want to see the cap increased and he had personally seen the "carnage and family misery" caused by gambling.
Councillor Russell Judd told councillors that only 33 cents of every dollar from poker machines went back into the community and increasing the cap was "contrary to this community's benefit". Mr Judd said his colleagues needed to think about organisations like Salvation Army which had to deal with the "fallout" from gambling.
