New Zealand’s Porirua Council approves sinking lid policy for slots
Porirua City Council has banned the introduction of new machines and venues.
New Zealand.- Councillors in Porirua have approved a new sinking lid gambling policy, banning the establishment of new gaming machines and venues in an effort to reduce the city’s spending on gambling.
The policy limits the number of gaming machines and prevents new class 4 (non-casino). According to News Talk ZB, the decision received community input, with 83 per cent of the 89 submissions supporting the approach.
Porirua joins other districts that have taken similar measures. In September, the councils of Carterton and Masterton, in Wairarapa, proposed a prohibition on gambling machine venues in the most economically disadvantaged areas outside of main town centres, a ban on new TABs (Totalisator Agency Boards) and heightened restrictions on the introduction of new machines.
Elsewhere, councillors in the Waimate District approved a sinking lid policy, which replaces the previous Gambling Venue Policy 2018 and TAB Board Venue Policy 2018.
According to reports, Porirua has one of the country’s highest expenditures per gambling machine. With 10 existing venues housing 156 pokie machines, the accumulated profit from the last financial year reached NZ$15.8m, a NZ$2m increase from the previous year.
