March18: Important deadline under Gambling Act
- banknote acceptors on all gaming machines in pubs, clubs and casinos must no longer accept notes greater than $20; and
- gaming machine societies operating machines at some venues must apply to their local city or district council for a gambling venue consent.
- that did not have a licence on 17 October 2001, or
- that did have a licence on 17 October 2001 but have been without a licence for a period of six months or more since that date.
- a ban on new casinos and on the expansion of gambling at existing casinos
- reductions in the numbers of gaming machines allowed in many pubs and clubs
- community involvement in deciding on territorial authority gambling venue policies
- more in-depth suitability checking of individuals, and tougher auditing and reporting requirements to ensure that money intended for the community actually gets to the community. Gaming machines in pubs and clubs continue to be licensed as a form of community fund raising only.
14/03/2004
The Department of Internal Affairs is reminding the gambling sector that the end of March 18 is the deadline for two important changes introduced in the Gambling Act:
Banknote acceptors
The Acting Director of the Department of Internal Affairs Gaming and Censorship Regulation Group, Keith Manch, said that currently banknote acceptors accept notes of any denomination.
Mr Manch said that Parliament decided to limit banknote acceptors to $20 as a way of slowing down how much money gamblers can put into gaming machines. It takes a machine about as long to scan and accept a $20 note as it takes a gambler to insert $20 in coins. Gamblers using $50 and $100 notes gamble much faster than they can if they put coins into machines.
The Department has advised all societies to confirm to it by March 17 that their machines are compliant with this provision of the new Act. If machines are not compliant by the end of March 18, they must not be operated.
Department Inspectors are continuously auditing societies and visiting gambling venues. If they find non-compliant machines after March 18, the Department can take action against the society.
This can include suspending or cancelling the society’s licence, or prosecution. Courts can impose fines of up to $10,000 per non-compliant machine.
The Department would welcome information from members of the public about non-compliant machines in pubs and clubs. Its toll free number is 0800 257 887.
The six casinos must also comply by the end of March 18. The Casino Control Authority (CCA) is administering requirements for casinos, with the Department and the independent Gambling Commission taking up their responsibilities in casinos on July 1.
The CCA will be formally disestablished on October 1.
Territorial authority consent
The Act requires that some venues must apply for territorial authority consent by the end of March 18. These are all venues:
If societies do not make applications by March 18 they must turn off their machines or they will have breached the Act and the Department could take action against them.
It does not matter that some territorial authorities might not have their gambling policies in place by March 18. Societies must still make their applications.
The territorial authority cannot refuse to accept the applications. Instead, it must accept them, hold them and consider them as soon as possible after it has finalised its gambling policy.
Background
The Gambling Act was passed in September last year. Most of its provisions have lead in periods, with all provisions to be in force by 1 July 2004.
The new Act will replace the Gaming and Lotteries Act, which regulates gaming machines in pubs and clubs, housie, raffles, games of chance and other gambling; and the Casino Control Act, which regulates casinos.
The Gambling Act introduces much stricter controls on gambling, including:
It treats problem gambling as a public health matter. The Ministry of Health is given responsibility for an integrated problem gambling strategy, including the funding and co-ordination of prevention and treatment services from July 1.
Media contact:
Keith Manch Phone 04 495 9449
Acting Director Cellular 027 445 6420
Vincent Cholewa Phone 04 495 9350
Communications Advisor Cellular 025 272 4270
