Media release from Hospitality NZ

Shift gaming machines from low socio economic areas

Let us shift gaming machines from low socio economic areas. This was the message delivered to the Select Committee hearing the Gaming (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill by Hospitality New Zealand. Gaming machines could only ever be located in bars and historically those bars have been more concentrated in lower socio economic areas. The current legislation locks them in to the current venues, and the industry was looking forward to the opportunity to be able to relocate gaming machines in to other areas and in to more suitable new, vibrant hospitality venues which are being developed across the country. Gaming machines are a small but important part of the hospitality entertainment mix and relocating some of those machines out of lower socio economic areas made sense, as did having them as part of the newer, modern hospitality offering, said Bruce Robertson, Hospitality New Zealand Chief Executive.

Hospitality New Zealand also called for a major change in the way venue operators are reimbursed for the costs in hosting machines. The current system which reimburses actual, reasonable and necessary expenses is extremely cumbersome, very bureaucratic and labour intensive. Hospitality New Zealand called for this system to be replaced by commission based system, which was clear, transparent, reimbursed actual necessary expenses and which would allow more money to be returned to the community. With all the money going through machines being electronically monitored by the Department of Internal Affairs a commission based payment system would deliver the sort of transparency and probity that the community is demanding, said Mr Robertson.

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