Rangitīkei District Council is consulting on the Draft Gambling Venue (Class 4) Policy and TAB Venue Policy. Both of these policies are required under central government legislation and must be reviewed every three years.

Council’s preferred options for both polices is for the status quo to remain in place. The number of gaming machines allowed to operate in the district will remain the same and that no stand-alone TAB venues will be allowed to operate in Rangitīkei.

While there are no significant changes to the policies that Council is proposing, there are some minor adjustments to bring these policies into line with central government legislation. The adjustments won’t impact on how the policies are implemented, and they can be found in the Statement of Proposal.

Council reached their preferred options following the receiving of a social impact Assessment on the impacts that gambling has on residents in Rangitīkei. The impact of harmful gambling in the Rangitīkei is considered to be medium-high. This means, residents could be more likely to be exposed to harmful gambling than the average New Zealander.

However, a significant proportion of revenue generated from gambling is funnelled back into the Rangitīkei community through grants and funding, which is used to support events, sports clubs, and other community projects.

If people would like to make a submission on the polices, they can do so from today until 5:00pm on Monday, 24 February.

For more information on the polices, and to make a submission, visit here.

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