DIA tries to show pokie system isn't broke!

Gaming machines in a Huntly bar will be switched off for two days next week (30 and 31 July) because a staff member was not trained to deal with problem gamblers.

Internal Affairs’ Gambling Compliance Director, Debbie Despard, said the two-day suspension of Pub Charity’s gaming machine operator’s licence at a Huntly bar emphasises the responsibilities gambling trusts have to ensure bar staff are adequately trained to deal with problem gambling.  It also highlights the importance of gaming societies ensuring that their venues comply with all gambling law requirements.

The Department suspended Pub Charity’s licence for one day after a complaint that the sole staff member at McGinty’s Turf and Sports Bar failed to issue a self-exclusion order to a problem gambler, due to lack of training.

The Gambling Commission doubled the sanction after the trust appealed the Department’s decision. The Commission said it was very concerned that a problem gambler “who had decided to take the difficult step of seeking self-exclusion to avoid ongoing harm” had not been able to make good the commitment on the day in question. Pub Charity had breached an important obligation over about three months.

Debbie Despard said self-exclusion allows a person to ask a venue manager to ban them from a venue for two years and can be very effective for people experiencing harm from gambling. Venues will be aware that a person has self-excluded and must take action if they try to re-enter.

“Gambling societies are responsible for ensuring that a person trained in problem gambling awareness is on duty whenever there is gambling offered,” she said.

The Department is working with problem gambling services and gambling operators to introduce multi-venue exclusion (MVE) programmes around the country.

“These allow a person to self-exclude from several venues at once without having to visit each personally,” Debbie Despard said. “Providing a ‘one-stop shop’ avoids the daunting prospect of a problem gambler having to repeatedly seek self-exclusion, losing resolve in the process.”

The MVE programme was started in 2006 by Internal Affairs’ gambling inspectors in Queenstown, where approximately 170 gamblers have sought self-exclusion.  The programme was extended to Invercargill, Dunedin, Nelson, Hamilton, Rotorua and Tauranga; Christchurch, Lower Hutt and Auckland are the latest areas to implement MVEs. The United Kingdom’s problem gambling care provider, GamCare, adopted a similar scheme after being briefed on the programme.

Pokie Trust Licence suspended

Gaming machines operated by Grassroots Trust in 21 pubs* will shut down for 16 days after the society failed to comply with gambling laws. This penalty is the most severe suspension that a class 4 gambling society has faced.

Internal Affairs’ Gambling Compliance Director, Debbie Despard, said Grassroots was sanctioned for breaches in the financial year ending March 2010 – failing to distribute a minimum of 37.12 pc of gaming machine proceeds to authorised purposes, a shortfall of $561,482 and overpaying venue expenses by$79,359.

The Department initially decided to cancel Grassroots’ licence in December 2011 after an audit revealed compliance breaches. Grassroots was entitled to continue operating while it appealed the decision to the Gambling Commission and sought a judicial review in the High Court.

The Department's dealings with the trust led to a negotiated outcome which will result in higher compliance expectations and more money to the community.  In bringing about a resolution the trust has agreed to licence conditions that require it to distribute a minimum of 40 per cent of gaming machine profit to the community and to limit the expenses it pays to its venues in a year to 14.5 per cent of GMP, rather than the statutory cap of 16 per cent.

As part of the negotiated outcome Grassroots is withdrawing the High Court action and its appeal to the Gambling Commission and the Department is withdrawing the licence cancellation.

Debbie Despard, said the community will ultimately benefit because Grassroots will provide more funds for grant distribution. The trust also committed itself to be a best-practice operator and to improving its funding practices to better target community need.

While some pubs may see themselves as being punished for a society’s misdemeanour, Debbie Despard urged venue operators to exercise caution in entering into an agreement with a society to operate gaming machines in their pubs.  Venue operators should be aware that they cannot receive any benefit from class 4 operators, other than reimbursement that is actual, reasonable and necessary. They should enquire about a society's compliance when choosing their class 4 operator, including where that society directs its grants and whether grant funding stays in the local community.

“We are satisfied that Grassroots has taken an appropriate response to the compliance issues.  High expectations for the future have been set, and the trust has already shown signs of improving its performance.  The successful end to negotiations shows the Department is prepared to be flexible in order to maximise benefits for the community.  

“Gaming trusts exist to maximise gaming machine proceeds to the community and ultimately the community will benefit from the commitments that Grassroots has made.”

Pokie operators warned over lobby laws

   Newstalk ZB - Operators of pokie machines are being warned not to break the law around their lobbying.it comes after concerns have been raised about the way some representations have been made against Gambling Amendment Bill currently before Parliament.
   Minister of Internal Affairs Chris Tremain says he is concerned about misuse of gaming machine money.
   "But I am advised that the department has written to all gaming machine societies to remind them that gaming proceeds cannot be used for lobbying," he says.

Pokie Rorts Must be Stopped - Dominion Editorial

Graph sourced from Pub Charity 2011 Annual Accounts

   The gaming industry has been quick to highlight the glaring flaw in Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell's legislative attempt to tame the pokie machine wild west.

   Requiring the industry to distribute 80 per cent of pokie profits back into the communities in which the machines are located would shave about $280 million off tax revenue and render the industry uneconomic.

   Presently just 37 per cent of machine proceeds are distributed to the community. The remainder is split between the Government in the form of taxes and the industry in the form of rents, salaries, machine hire and administrative costs.

   However, the flaw in Mr Flavell's gambling bill is easily remedied. The number 80 can be changed at the stroke of a pen. Neither Mr Flavell nor other parliamentarians should allow themselves to be dissuaded by the industry's campaign against the bill.

   When it comes to its own affairs, the industry has shown itself to be an unreliable witness. Commitments made are broken; laws and regulations are flouted.

   According to a report prepared last year by the former chief executive of the Charity Gaming Association, Francis Wevers, more than half of the country's gaming machine operators have been sanctioned by the Internal Affairs Department for breaching their legal and operating obligations.

   For five years Mr Wevers served as the industry's mouthpiece, defending it against external criticism while working internally to try to clean up its operations. In his report, prepared for Nathan Guy, a former internal affairs minister, he effectively admits he failed completely.

An industry that is supposed to operate for the benefit of the community is instead run for the benefit of the racing industry, some major sporting codes, pub owners, gaming machine manufacturers and the highly-paid staff of some gaming machine societies.

   Mr Wevers blames the "all pervasive and pernicious" corruption in the industry on its legislative environment. The incentives to engage in unlawful activity outweigh the consequences of getting caught.

   The harm caused by pokie machines is well documented. Gambling addictions devastate some communities. The supposed tradeoff is that those communities get funding for worthwhile projects.

   There is an element of truth to that. Many sports clubs and volunteer organisations have become almost totally dependent upon pokie machine funding. However, much of the money raised in poorer communities is distributed on the other, wealthier, side of town, and pubs and gaming machine trusts are inflating their costs to boost their bottom lines.

   The industry has been given ample time to get its house in order. It has failed to do so. It is time for lawmakers to take a hand. The business of operating pokie machines should be separated from the awarding of grants and operators should be held accountable for their failings. Mr Flavell's bill presents an opportunity to accomplish both objectives. His fellow parliamentarians should seize it.

- © Fairfax NZ News