The New Zealand Gambling Commission is analysing casino charity requirements as some casino operators are currently giving away less than 1 per cent of their profits annually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
New Zealand.- Casinos’ charity requirements\u00a0<\/strong>are to be reviewed by the New Zealand Gambling Commission, which has noted that some casino operators give only 0.7 per cent\u00a0<\/strong>of their profits to charity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commission requires the operators of the country’s six casinos to make minimum contributions to an independent charitable trust<\/strong>,\u00a0which they are required to support as part of their licensing conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the requirements vary for each casino and with the exception of Christchurch Casino<\/strong>\u00a0have not been reviewed since they were first introduced. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Christchurch Casino pays at least 2.5 per cent<\/strong>\u00a0of its annual net profit or NZ$250,000, whichever was greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dunedin mayor\u00a0Aaron Hawkins<\/strong>\u00a0said that\u00a0Dunedin Casino paid at least NZ$52,000 a year\u00a0<\/strong>to an organisation that provides funding for problem gambling treatment. It also\u00a0gave 1 per cent of gaming machine turnover\u00a0<\/strong>(up to a maximum of NZ$110,000) to community and sports groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n SkyCity\u00a0Queenstown Casino donated nearly 2.5 per cent of its net profit\u00a0<\/strong>and SkyCity Hamilton 2 per cent of its revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for Auckland\u2019s\u00a0SkyCity<\/a>\u00a0casino, it gave away just 0.7 per cent of its earnings, or a minimum of NZ$500,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wharf Casino donated 20 per cent<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0added 1 per cent for each year of operations\u00a0<\/strong>until it reached 30 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The proportion of donations contrasts with those required of the operators\u00a0of pokies <\/strong>in pubs and clubs, which are required to give away around\u00a040 per cent of their proceeds<\/strong> as community grants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The casino charity requirement review was criticised by\u00a0Andree Froude<\/strong> at the Problem Gambling Foundation<\/strong>, who said the New Zealand Gambling Commission should focus on ensuring casinos are delivering effective\u00a0responsibility programmes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Stuff newspaper, she said: “Using gambling money to fund charities created\u00a0a cycle of reliance<\/strong>, which happened with class four gambling (pokies in pubs, clubs and TABs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo amount of charity makes up for the harm caused by gambling, and we need to focus on where the money is coming from<\/strong>, often the most vulnerable in our society, and not where it is going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In April, the\u00a0Auckland University of Technology<\/a>\u00a0carried out a study to analyse the behaviour of\u00a0people with gambling addiction problems<\/strong>, finding they\u00a0tend to pull away from community groups<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study found that people with gambling addictions have a poorer quality of life and weak health<\/strong>. They also tend to experience stressful life situations. The study found that people who resolve addiction problems see an improvement in their health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last year the National Institute for Health Innovation launched an app called Manaaki<\/a> to help people cut back on gambling<\/strong>. The app, which is being tested, aims to help users control urges to gamble<\/strong> and to give players the feeling they can change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n