Rotorua has more pokie machines than its policy cap specifies. Photo / Christine Cornege
Councils trying to combat gambling issues are “straightjacketed” by the law, a Rotorua Lakes councillor believes.
While voting to roll over the city’s existing pokie and TAB venue policy, several councillors expressed concern they were being left to manage the fallout with little authority to prevent it.
The policy caps gaming machines at 350, but that is currently exceeded with 362 in Rotorua.
Therefore, no new venues or machines can be added.
If numbers dropped below 350, a venue may open in the CBD with up to nine machines but must be 100m from schools or community facilities. Relocation rules vary according to location.
However, several councillors remained uneasy with the current situation and would like to do more.
“We are straightjacketed by the legislation that we have to abide by,” said councillor Conan O’Brien.
A suggestion to remove cash machines from pokie venues was considered to have limited impact, with bank ATMs sited nearby.
O’Brien highlighted new self-service TAB terminals, which began operating in March, as a bigger concern.
“I find it very hard that the Government expects us to reduce gambling but not give us powers over TAB,” said O’Brien.
“The amount of TAB pods makes it very unequal. We have been tasked with dealing with something but not given the tools to do so.”
The Racing Industry Act requires councils to have a policy on TAB venues but they have no power to regulate the number and location of TAB agency venues, such as full-service shops or self-service betting terminals.
Annual losses from gambling in Rotorua total over $26 million, a figure that has gone up year-on-year since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The most recent data from the Ministry of Health showed 5.33% of all clients who received some form of gambling intervention in 2022-23 were based in Rotorua.
Only Auckland (41.38%) and Christchurch (9.18%) were higher, leaving Rotorua with a higher gambling intervention share than the likes of Wellington, Hamilton and Tauranga.
Councillor Gregg Brown said he was concerned by some of the figures involved, including Rotorua’s 2.3% share of the nation’s class-four gambling venues, compared to its 1.5% population share.
“Even if it is virtue-signalling or signalling to our gambling suppliers that we would like to see the numbers reduced, that’s where I sit with it,” said Brown.
According to Entain Australia and New Zealand, which operates the TAB and Betcha brands in New Zealand, there are seven venues in Rotorua and Ngongotahā with TAB facilities. These included one full-service TAB store on Eruera St and self-service terminals at six other locations, including the Arawa Park racecourse.
In June, new legislation banned offshore betting agencies from accepting bets from New Zealand punters – effectively giving Entain a monopoly on domestic racing and sports betting.
Entain said it had been “relentlessly focused” on improving betting experiences and minimising gambling harm.
A refresh in 2024 brought in safer betting tools such as deposit limits, individual bet limits, curfews, customer control on what markets are visible, blocking days of the week, self-exclusion and account closure.
Some of those options are available on self-service terminals.
“Further to this, safer betting messaging is shared through self-service terminals, including information on where to seek help, and retail staff can assist customers with self-exclusion,” said an Entain spokesperson.
The difficulty managing and understanding problem gambling is not limited to Rotorua.
In February, the Gambling Commission criticised the Ministry of Health for seeking a $92 million levy increase without evidence its problem gambling strategy works.
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey called the situation “unacceptable” and the levy was reduced to $81m.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell acknowledged gambling causes “significant harm” in the Rotorua community.
“It is a very challenging topic,” she said. “It is difficult for a council but we do want to advocate further.”
She also highlighted social media influencer betting ads as an increasingly dangerous activity for Rotorua’s young population – insisting more assistance from central government was needed to tackle online gambling.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.