Central Otago District councillors have sent a clear message to gaming societies, to increase their transparency and increase their funding.

Council had to decide this week whether to retain class 4 gambling machines in pubs and clubs under current settings or introduce a 'sinking lid' approach where gaming machines would reduce over time.

The societies which operate gaming machines were legally mandated to return 40% of the proceeds by way of community grants, but Central Otago received an average of just 27% of gaming machine funding returned as grant funding per year. 

"It's hard to prove there is a benefit coming back to the community, and whether that benefit would outweigh the harm," Mayor Tamah Alley summarised, asking that the societies return, at the next review, with clear benefits, data and evidence of an increase in return.

In its Moderation Matters Consultation 2025, the number of submissions for and against phasing out gaming machines were split 11 each way, and councillors heard from health professionals and those involved with gaming machine funding.

Those arguing against the sinking lid policy, including the Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand, said there was no link between the decline in machine numbers and problem gaming - which was currently at 0.2%.

The district currently received $1.28 million in local grants from gaming machine funding, and Otago Rugby Football Union chief executive Richard Kinley said without it would result in a reassessment of its programme delivery.

“Cost should be no barrier to children for rugby. We want children to play sport and if that’s rugby that’s great.”

ORFU had been a recipient of gaming machine funding for many years, and emphasised that it was a critical part of its ability to deliver programmes across the region.

But the Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF) said more than $1.037 billion was lost to pokies in New Zealand in 2024, and was strongly in support of the sinking lid policy.

Central Otago currently had nine Class 4 Gambling venues (pubs/clubs) - considered the most high risk and harmful types in New Zealand. There were a total of 107 machines in the district.

Mayor Alley asked councillors to weigh up the costs of problem gambling in the community, versus the benefits of being able to keep kids in sport.

She also questioned the PGF about what support services they had for people in the district. Staff said there a fulltime counsellor available in Dunedin. 

Health New Zealand medical officer of health Dr Michael Bouchard, who also strongly in support of the sinking lid policy and said the peer reviewed medical literature spoke for itself.

“It’s not an issue of problematic people but problematic products.”

He said they couldn’t fix gambling harm by treating people but treating the cause.

Mayor Alley used the opportunity again to question what level of support problem gamblers had in Central Otago, highlighting the district’s lack of access to many important health services.

Dr Bouchard said the harm in gambling outweighed the grants “there is no doubt about that.”

“The grants are easy to see but the harm is unseen because it’s in people’s homes. People are unaware of the magnitude of the harm.”

After a lengthy discussion, councillors moved to support retaining the status quo, citing concerns about the risk to community funding, and the lack of alternative funding sources.

The policy will next be reviewed, based on any of these changes, in 2028.

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