Gambling venue policy

How the new policy works | View the policy | Glossary

New class 4 and New Zealand Racing Board venue consents

From 1 June 2010, Auckland City Council will accept applications for new class 4 and New Zealand Racing Board venues. If you are interested in applying for a new class 4 or New Zealand Racing Board venue complete the general enquiries form here.

The fee for assessing new venue consents is $357.78 (inc GST). This fee will cover the administration and processing costs incurred by the council.

The Gambling Act 2003 requires Auckland City Council to adopt a policy for class 4 and New Zealand Racing Board (NZRB) venues.

The Gambling venue policy guides how Auckland City Council manages the growth of class 4 and NZRB gambling in the city, whilst continuing to minimise the harm caused by gambling.

In March 2010 Council approved a new Gambling venue policy to manage class 4 and NZRB venues. The new policy takes a 'sinking lid with relocations' approach and will come into effect from 1 June 2010.

The objectives of the policy are to:

minimize the harm cause by gambling, including problem gambling
allow individuals to safely participate in class 4 and NZRB gambling in Auckland city
address the clustering of class 4 and NZRB venues in Auckland city.

How the new policy works

Under the new policy, council will continue prevent any increase in venue or machine numbers currently operating in the city. However, council will assess new class 4 venue consent applications under the following conditions:

the new venue must replace an existing venue
the new venue must operate fewer machines than the venue it replaces
the new class 4 gambling venue is located on one of the following:
- on a premises licensed under the Sale of Liquor Act 1989 (either under an on-licence or club licence)
- a premises owned or leased by the New Zealand Racing Board and used mainly for race betting or sports betting
the new venue cannot be established:
- in a high deprivation area of the city
- on council owned land
- within 100 metres of an existing class 4 venue, school, early childhood centre, kindergarten, place of worship or community facility.

Similarly, the new policy will not consent to any increase in NZRB venue numbers, but council will assess new NZRB venue consent applications under the following conditions:

the new NZRB venue must replace an existing NZRB venue
the new NZRB venue cannot be established:
- on council owned land
- within 500 metres of any physical TAB betting services
- within 100 metres of a school, early childhood centre, kindergarten, place of worship or community facility.

How the consent process will work

Once the new Gambling venue policy becomes operational, council will accept applications for assessing new class 4 or NZRB venue consents. The proposed fee for assessing new venue consents is $357.78 (inc GST). This fee will cover the administration and processing costs incurred by the council.

View the policy

Download the Gambling venue policy (92kb PDF)

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Glossary

The following table clarifies some of the terms used on this page.

Term	Definition
Class 4 gaming machine	Means an electronic gaming machine/pokie machine which operates outside of a casino
Class 4 gambling venue	Means a pub or club that operates class 4 gaming machines
Gambling-related harm	Means the harm caused by gambling to the individual
New Zealand Racing Board venue	Means a venue that primarily conducts sports betting services. These venues are commonly named as stand alone TABs.
Relocation	Means where existing class 4 or NZRB venues in Auckland city can apply to relocate gaming machines. The new venue however must meet the provisions of the policy in order for the application to be considered
'Sinking lid' approach	Means an approach to a Gambling venue policy which does not consent to any increase in the number of gaming machines and/or gambling venues currently operating in a territorial local authority

Updated November 2010