Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui District Council reviews pokie machine policy

Laurel Stowell
By Laurel Stowell
Reporter·Whanganui Chronicle·
14 Dec, 2020 04:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Whanganui District has 208 pokie machines but council policy could progressively reduce that. Photo / File

Whanganui District has 208 pokie machines but council policy could progressively reduce that. Photo / File

Adult New Zealanders should be able to spend their money as they like - including by gambling on pokie machines, the Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand says.

Jarrod True spoke on behalf of the association as Whanganui District Council began a review of its gambling venues policy.

Problem gambling affects only 0.2 per cent of New Zealanders, or about 91 people in the Whanganui District, True said. Gambling venues provide local employment, pay taxes and GST and donate back to their communities.

He contrasted this with "the elephant in the room", the continued increase in online gambling.

"Our venues are public venues. There are staff there. The maximum you can bet on our machines is $2.50, and the maximum you can win is $1000. People can gamble online at any time, with no one monitoring them."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

True would prefer council policy to cap the number of venues in the district, not reduce the number of machines. He argued that there was no relationship between the number of machines and the amount gambled.

The council's gambling venues policy has sought to progressively decrease the number of pokie machines in the district. It has reduced from 225 to 208 during the past five years.

Proposed changes now being considered would add detail about venues merging and relocating. The current policy has a loophole that allowed Barracks Sports Bar to get a licence to operate the 18 machines from the closed Midtown Motor Inn.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In the proposed new version of the policy, machines would leave the district when a venue closed.

The policy review received 58 submissions. Councillors started hearing them last week, and will continue on Tuesday, December 15.

Discover more

Pokies proceeds awarded to community - who got what?

27 Nov 04:00 PM

Whanganui gambling at record levels

20 Nov 04:01 AM

'Broken system, abhorrent addiction' - gambling funds sport

13 Oct 04:00 PM

Number of Whanganui's pokies dropping despite room to move in policy

01 Jul 11:24 PM

Thirty-nine of the submissions want the sinking lid to stay, and 14 of those want it tightened further.

On the other side are 19 submitters who oppose the sinking-lid policy. The majority would prefer a cap on venues instead, and most of them rely on donations from gaming societies.

Graeme "Grader" Howells, of the Aramoho Whanganui Rowing Club, said the donations keep club membership fees down, and 80 per cent of its members are secondary students.

It's difficult for families to meet the fees and the club wants to maintain grants at their current level, Howells said.

"We have asked ourselves if we are comfortable to receive grants from the proceeds of gambling."

Whanganui Masters Games Trust trustee Mike Cronin said gaming societies have contributed about $180,000 toward the $1 million event, which kept entry fees down. There were not many other funding sources.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We are highly reliant on Class 4 gaming."

Some submitters are problem gamblers themselves.

"As a problem gambler, with PGF [Problem Gambling Foundation] support, I know of temptation and it needs 'capping' asap," one said.

Whanganui District Health Board health promotion officer Chester Penaflor said the sinking-lid policy will prevent harm.

He quoted from the council's own proposal: "Gambling harm is often hidden, but can be recognised in poverty and loss of savings, damage to health, susceptibility to addictive behaviours, crime, violence, broken down relationships and poor performance at study or work."

In 2019 more than $10.7 million was spent on pokies in Whanganui - about $29,000 a day, council officers calculate.

By law, 40 per cent of the proceeds must be returned to the community in donations. That year $3.1m was donated directly and indirectly to district organisations - 29 per cent of the total.

Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said there was a sense that although money was "coming out of Whanganui" from pokie machines, the correct amount was not being returned.

The hearing continues on Tuesday, December 15.

NewsletterClicker
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found

Whanganui Chronicle

End of the line for former St George's School buildings

Whanganui Chronicle

Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found
Whanganui Chronicle

Body of missing man found

Kahu Gill's body was recovered near the Cobham Bridge on July 14.

16 Jul 08:34 PM
End of the line for former St George's School buildings
Whanganui Chronicle

End of the line for former St George's School buildings

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash
Whanganui Chronicle

Netball: Kaierau edge Pirates in thrilling Premier 1 clash

16 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP