A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said a submission was being drafted for the Gambling Commission s review.
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Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins has written a draft submission concerning the charitable trusts of casinos. A draft letter from Dunedin mayor Aaron Hawkins, which forms part of a submission to be discussed by his council on Tuesday, supported a “more consistent approach to the level of community funding provided by casinos”. Hawkins also asked for the trusts to become fully independent of casinos, “rather than allow licence holders to exercise control over significant aspects of the trust”. He noted Dunedin Casino paid at least $52,000 a year to an “independent” charitable trust, which provided funding for problem gambling treatment and 1 per cent of gaming machine turnover (to a maximum of $110,000) to community and sport groups.
Rachael Kelly17:08, May 04 2021
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Money laundering claims concerns the Gore District Council as it reviews its draft gambling policy and TAB venues policy. [File photo].
The chairman of the Hokonui Rūnanga says he was not aware of a submission his organisation made which claims money laundering may be happening in the Gore District by organised crime. The claim was made by the Rūnanga in a submission to the Gore District Council’s Draft Gambling Policy and TAB Venues Policy, which will be heard next week. But chairman Terry Nicholas said he was not aware of the submission, written by staff member Joann Brand, which said ‘’there seems to be a link between P users and gambling practices which indicates a money laundering process may also be employed by organised crime locally.’’
“I think pokies are a stain on this community,” Paul said. The proposal proved controversial for several community groups, which rely on gaming revenue for funding via Pub Charity.
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Wellington City Council voted to institute a ‘sinking lid’ policy for pokie machines on Thursday. In 2017 and 2018, class 4 gambling – pokie machines in pubs and clubs – provided approximately $61million to sport, health, environmental, education, and arts sectors in the Wellington region. “Wellington s sport and recreation sector relies heavily on that funding to enable sport and active recreation to occur at the community level,” he said. Councillor Nicola Young expressed scepticism about the policy, saying it would be ineffective and would hurt community groups