Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne today announced the release of a Ministry of Health consultation document on services it proposes to purchase to prevent and minimise gambling harm over the next few years.

The Ministry proposes spending over $55 million in three-year period from 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2016, on:

• intervention services to help people experiencing problems as a result of their own or someone else’s gambling;
• public health services to prevent and minimise gambling harm; and
• gambling research and evaluation.

The main gambling operators (non-casino gaming machine societies, the casinos, the New Zealand Lotteries Commission and the New Zealand Racing Board) reimburse the Government for the cost of the Ministry’s services.

“This consultation process is required every three years under the Gambling Act 2003 and it is important that we get feedback on how we might spend the funding to best effect,” Mr Dunne said.

“The Health Ministry will consider its proposals in the light of submissions and final decisions will be made by April or May next year,” he said.

Written submissions close on Friday 7 September. The Ministry will also hold meetings in main centres in the week starting 20 August, to discuss its proposals and the process for making submissions.

The consultation document can be found at http://www.health.govt.nz/publication/preventing-and-minimising-gambling-harm-consultation-document

The meetings will be listed on the Ministry’s website.

Figures released by the Department of Internal Affairs show that in the year ended 30 June 2012 the number of gaming machines in the country’s 1400 pubs and clubs decreased by 366 or 2 per cent from 18,309 to 17,943, venues declined by 1.5 per cent from 1421 to 1400 and there were 361 licence holders compared with 364 a year earlier.

Gaming machine expenditure in the same period rose $1.7 million to $857.7 million. Expenditure of $212.2 million in the second quarter of 2012 was 3.5 per cent less or $7.7 million than in the same period of 2011 but 4 per cent up on the $203.7 million for the first three months of this year.

The spending is captured through the electronic monitoring of non-casino gaming machines (EMS), which became fully operational in March 2007, enabling the Department to track and monitor operations, ensure the integrity of games and the accurate accounting of money.

     Non-casino GM spending by Society Type – April - June 2012
Society Type           Total GMP Quarter        % of Total
Non-Club              184,122,548.03        86.8%
Sports Clubs            3,741,520.56        1.8%
Chartered Clubs    16,969,661.17        8.0%
RSAs                          7,328,869.05        3.5%
Total Club                28,040,050.78        13.2%
Total All                  212,162,598.81        100.0%

Non-casino GM spending in quarter ended
30 June 2012             $212.2 m
31 March 2012            $203.7 m
31 December 2011         $220.4 m
30 September 2011        $221.4 m
30 June 2011             $219.9 m
31 March 2011            $205.1 m
31 December 2010         $215.8 m
30 September 2010        $215.2 m
30 June 2010             $209.8 m
31 March 2010            $199.9 m
31 December 2009         $218.8 m
30 September 2009        $220.7 m
30 June 2009             $217.3 m
31 March 2009            $208.7 m
31 December 2008         $230.7  m
30 September 2008        $232.3 m
30 June 2008             $231 m
31 March 2008            $218.5 m
31 December 2007         $245.3 m
30 September 2007        $243.5 m
30 June 2007             $237.7 m

Licensed gambling operations in pubs and clubs

Date        Licence holders     Venues  Gaming machines
30 June 2012    361               1400    17,943
31 March 2012   359               1403    18,001
31 Dec 2011     360               1410    18,133
30 Sept 2011    360               1409    18,167
30 June 2011    364               1421    18,309
31 March 2011   365               1430    18,484
31 Dec 2010     367               1443    18,681
30 Sept 2010    369               1438    18,601
30 June 2010    370               1455    18,944
31 March 2010   374               1470    19,115
31 Dec 2009     378               1491    19,359
30 Sept 2009    377               1486    19,296
30 June 2009    384               1501    19,479
31 March 2009   394               1527    19,739
31 Dec 2008     399               1537    19,879
30 Sept 2008    405               1551    20,025
30 June 2008    415               1552    19,856
31 March 2008   421               1569    20,018
31 Dec 2007     428               1585    20,182
30 Sept 2007    435               1593    20,163
30 June 2007    439               1598    20,120

Further information, including numbers of venues, machines and expenditure by territorial authority and changes in the quarter, is available from the Department’s Gaming Statistics web page at: www.dia.govt.nz. The figures are based on territorial authority boundaries that existed prior to the new Auckland super city.

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain today announced the reappointment of two members of the Gambling Commission – Graeme Reeves as Chief Gambling Commissioner and Paul Stanley as Gambling Commissioner. Both Commissioners’ terms are for three years.

“The reappointments will retain valuable governance experience and skills. Mr Reeves, of Wellington, will continue to provide his legal expertise and strategic analysis experience, while Mr Stanley, of Tauranga, will provide Māori and health sector perspectives,” says Mr Tremain.

The Gambling Commission is an independent statutory decision-making body. The Commission hears casino licensing applications, and appeals on licensing and enforcement decisions made by the Secretary of Internal Affairs in relation to gaming machines and other non-casino gambling activities.

The other Commissioners are Russell Bell of Whanganui, Abigail Foote of Christchurch and Lisa Hansen of Wellington.

SKYCITY Queenstown Casino is playing host to poker players from around the world for the fourth season of the Pokerstars.net NZPT Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest from 24 – 29 July.

With the field capped at 200 players, including some of the top poker players from throughout Australasia and the world, competition will be fierce. Players will have to pull out all the stops to take away a slice of the maximum $540,000NZD* prize pool and to be named the Pokerstars.net NZPT Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest Champion for 2012.

Names to watch this year include Team PokerStars.net PRO Bryan Huang from Singapore and Team PokerStars.net Online Rohit Bhasins better known at the virtual felt as GodlikeRoy from Australia.  Australian Poker Hall of Fame members Leo Boxell and Billy ‘the Croc’ Argyros, reigning Player of the Year for this tour, Danny Chevalier, who was notably the first NZPT Queenstown Champion in 2009, a World Series bracelet winner Andrew Hinrichsen, reigning Asian Player of the Year champion Hung-Sheng (Shaq) Lin from Taiwan, and Queenstown business man and last year’s runner up Matty Yates.

Pokerstars.net NZPT Commissioner Danny McDonagh is thrilled with the quality of players and is looking forward to the upcoming tournament.

“This is the fourth year of the NZPT Queenstown tournament and it is always a pleasure to come to this beautiful part of the world. We are expecting to set records this year for attendance but this event is about more than just a great poker tournament. Queenstown is a fantastic place for poker players young and old. Families have a great time with so much outdoor activity while the younger players enjoy the amazing night-life Queenstown has to offer,” Mr McDonagh said.

As well as exciting poker action on the felts, the tournament is great for Queenstown tourism with players, friends and family members expected to take part in a number of actitivies across the week.

New activities this year include Poker in the Snow, a mock poker tournament up Coronet Peak hosted by NZSki on Wednesday 25 July featuring Team PokerStars.net players Bryan Huang and Rohit Bhasis, and the inaugural Pokerstars.net Frisbee Golf Tournament at the Queenstown Gardens on 26 July.

SKYCITY Queenstown Casino’s General Manager, Michelle Baillie suggests that the benefits to the region are greater than some may think.

“We are delighted to be working with the team from Pokerstars.net again this year. The event is good for the local economy and is a great way to show-case Queenstown to millions of poker fans all over the world through video blogs and coverage from international poker news websites,” Ms Baillie said.

Entries to the Pokerstars.net NZPT Queenstown – SKYCITY Snowfest are still available but interested parties are encouraged to get in quick. To register for the $3,000 buy-in main event or to see details on the tournament schedule including qualifying tournaments on Monday 23 July, see www.skycityqueenstown.co.nz for more details. You must be 20 years or older to enter SKYCITY Queenstown Casino. Game Responsibly.

*Subject to full participation

Gaming machines operated by Grassroots Trust in 21 pubs* will shut down for 16 days after the society failed to comply with gambling laws. This penalty is the most severe suspension that a class 4 gambling society has faced.

Internal Affairs’ Gambling Compliance Director, Debbie Despard, said Grassroots was sanctioned for breaches in the financial year ending March 2010 – failing to distribute a minimum of 37.12 pc of gaming machine proceeds to authorised purposes, a shortfall of $561,482 and overpaying venue expenses by $79,359.

The Department initially decided to cancel Grassroots’ licence in December 2011 after an audit revealed compliance breaches. Grassroots was entitled to continue operating while it appealed the decision to the Gambling Commission and sought a judicial review in the High Court.

The Department's dealings with the trust led to a negotiated outcome which will result in higher compliance expectations and more money to the community. In bringing about a resolution the trust has agreed to licence conditions that require it to distribute a minimum of 40 per cent of gaming machine profit to the community and to limit the expenses it pays to its venues in a year to 14.5 per cent of GMP, rather than the statutory cap of 16 per cent.

As part of the negotiated outcome Grassroots is withdrawing the High Court action and its appeal to the Gambling Commission and the Department is withdrawing the licence cancellation.

Debbie Despard, said the community will ultimately benefit because Grassroots will provide more funds for grant distribution. The trust also committed itself to be a best-practice operator and to improving its funding practices to better target community need.

While some pubs may see themselves as being punished for a society’s misdemeanour, Debbie Despard urged venue operators to exercise caution in entering into an agreement with a society to operate gaming machines in their pubs. Venue operators should be aware that they cannot receive any benefit from class 4 operators, other than reimbursement that is actual, reasonable and necessary. They should enquire about a society's compliance when choosing their class 4 operator, including where that society directs its grants and whether grant funding stays in the local community.

“We are satisfied that Grassroots has taken an appropriate response to the compliance issues. High expectations for the future have been set, and the trust has already shown signs of improving its performance. The successful end to negotiations shows the Department is prepared to be flexible in order to maximise benefits for the community.

“Gaming trusts exist to maximise gaming machine proceeds to the community and ultimately the community will benefit from the commitments that Grassroots has made.”

The Green Party has drafted a Bill that would require casinos to pay back the some of the proceeds of crime they receive through gambling.

The Bill would amend the Criminal proceeds of crime (recovery) amendment Act to impose a special obligation on casinos to return profits derived from significant criminal activity and which they should have been able to detect.

"When problem gamblers are convicted of stealing from their employers, or laundering drug money through the casino, everyone suffers except the casino, who pockets the profits," Green Party gambling spokesperson Denise Roche said today.

"The addict is jailed, and loses their job, their family and friends. Their employer can be ruined. But the casino is better off as a result of the crime. That's not fair.

"The draft amendment Bill specifically includes casinos in the Act and introduces a new legal test that makes them responsible for forfeiting proceeds, if they allowed the gambling to occur by not using the best methods to detect problem gambling and crime.

"This is not about picking on the casino for every $10 stolen to pump into a pokie machine.

"It's about ensuring that the proceeds of significant criminal activity, are returned to people they've been stolen from.

"Casinos have access to advanced technologies for detecting criminal activity and fraud. They have host responsibility programmes that should ensure alarm bells go off when risky gambling occurs.

"But recent prosecutions involving huge amounts of money stolen and then gambled by high rollers at SkyCity casinos, often tracked by casino VIP programmes, raise questions about whether the casino could have done more to detect and deter the crimes.

"Other laws and regulations are in place to ensure casinos step up their efforts to detect crime.

"This amendment Bill is about ensuring they return criminal proceeds that they should never have benefited from," Ms Roche said.

Notes:

Massey University research shows that about 10,000 New Zealanders are engaged in illegal activities because of their gambling addictions. Pokies are the worst culprits.

Problem gambling costs $1 billion annually in bankruptcies, arrests, incarcerations, unemployment, divorce, poor physical and mental health, loss of educational opportunity and suicide.

After a request from the Green Party, the Auditor-General is investigating a deal between the Government and SkyCity, that would change the Gambling Act to allow the casino hundreds more pokier machines, and other concessions, in exchange for the casino building a convention centre in Auckland.

Examples of criminal money spent at casinos

- Trusted accountant Richard Arthur Watson stole $5.4 million from his employer to feed his gambling addiction at SkyCity, spending $50 million over ten years as a VIP high roller. He went to jail last year, his family was devastated and his employer suffered massive losses, which will never really be recovered.

- Christian Clifton, a methamphetamine cook who was jailed for life in September 2011, was a VIP member of the high-roller club at SkyCity casino. He gambled $1.3 million in the three years before his arrest.

From the $1.3 million gambled, he had a return of $1.1 million , a loss of around $200,000. That was in effect the price to clean up illegally gained money.

- Herminia Lanuza, an accountant, was jailed in 2010 after stealing $2.7 million to spend as a VIP at SkyCity.

A pokies trust which earns nearly half its proceeds from Waikato and Bay of Plenty gamblers is giving most of its grants to groups in Auckland, Green Party gambling spokesperson Denise Roche has revealed.

An analysis of data provided by pokie trusts reveals Nautilus Trust owns pokies in pubs throughout the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty as well as Auckland, but 98 per cent of the grant funds are distributed to Auckland groups - many of them sports organisations

"The Waikato and Bay of Plenty have 44% of Nautilus' 154 pokie machines, but only receive 1.4% of Nautilus' grants," Ms Roche said.

"This shows the urgent need for a different system of pokies funds distribution which ensures that the harm caused to communities by gambling is at least partly rectified by ensuring grant funding is returned to the same community.

"Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell's Gambling Harm Reduction Bill, which the Green Party has supported through its first reading in Parliament, will deliver a fairer distribution system and is a good start towards pokie reform.

"It would ensure at least 80% of the grant funding available from pokie profits is returned to the area they are collected from. The Nautilus case demonstrates exactly why that kind of guarantee is necessary.

"Out of the total 229 grants that Nautilus made, only eight Waikato groups received funding. The rest went to Auckland," said Ms Roche.

"Bay of Plenty groups didn't apply for funding so didn't get any. But funds were still taken out of that community.

"We need to be proactive to ensure pokie funds do not get siphoned from poor communities into wealthier ones, which is a situation we've seen time and again under the current distribution model," Ms Roche said.

The shonky deal between National and SkyCity must immediately go on hold until the Auditor-General’s investigation into the convention centre tendering process is complete, says Labour Leader David Shearer.

“John Key’s fingerprints are all over this shonky deal. The cosy arrangement between him and SkyCity was dodgy from the very beginning. It was stitched up in a way that essentially cut all other bidders out of the running.

“That’s not the way we do business in New Zealand. We have a strong reputation internationally for open and transparent government and that must be protected.

“The Auditor-General’s inquiry is an opportunity to get to the bottom of what National and SkyCity have been up to behind closed doors.

“New Zealanders are overwhelmingly opposed to the deal. They don’t want National selling our legislation by offering the casino more pokies if it builds the convention centre. They know the harm that pokies cause in our communities.

“The whole process surrounding this deal has been shonky, including John Key’s overinflated claim that up to 2000 jobs could be created by the convention centre. Estimates from hospitality and travel consultants put the number at more like 320.

“It’s time for the truth to be told. We welcome the Auditor-General’s decision to conduct a thorough inquiry and look forward to her findings,” said David Shearer.

The Green Party is calling for an immediate hold on all negotiations over the Skycity convention centre deal as the Auditor General investigates the process which led to the casino being chosen to build the centre.

Deputy Auditor General Phillippa Smith has agreed to a request by Green Party Co leader Metiria Turei to carry out an inquiry into the Expressions of Interest Process for proposals to establish an international convention centre.

"The Government cannot possibly proceed with the SkyCity deal, while the inquiry goes ahead, as its terms of reference cut to the heart of the decision to award the contract to Skycity in the first place," Mrs Turei said.

"I raised concerns about the fairness and adequacy of the process, especially given Skycity was offered a law change that gave it more pokies in exchange for building the centre, and the deal didn't appear to consider the huge social and financial costs of increased gambling."

The inquiry will examine:

• The overall process for seeking and assessing proposals for an international convention centre;
• The adequacy of the assessment of the likely costs and benefits of each proposal and;
• Any other matters the Auditor General considers it desirable to report on.

"A deal that gives a casino more pokies and other opportunities to profit from problem gamblers is immoral. It is appropriate that the Government's wheelings and dealings are being looked into," Mrs Turei said.

"The Green Party is not anti-convention centres. There were options on the table from other groups who wanted to build a centre which didn't involve trading in the wellbeing of vulnerable people to build it.

"We don't think the process has been fair to those other groups, to Aucklanders who don't want more gambling in their city, and to the families of problem gamblers who are likely to suffer from any increase in gambling.

"But the Prime Minister and Economic Development Minister Stephen Joyce chose to back the Skycity proposal from the outset, blithely offering SkyCity a law change that would see a massive increase in its gambling business.

"The Prime Minister has failed to acknowledge that law change subverts a fundamental intention of the Gambling Act, which is to prevent absolutely any more gambling opportunities in New Zealand casinos in recognition of the harm gambling causes.

"This deal raises serious issues of Ministerial influence and fairness and we look forward to the outcome of the Auditor General's inquiry," Mrs Turei said.

Link to AG inquiry terms of reference: http://www.greens.org.nz/sites/default/files/ag_skycity.pdf

Crown owned entities such as Sport New Zealand should not be involved in lobbying on behalf of pokie trusts, Green Party gambling spokesperson Denise Roche said today.

A confidential paper was sent by Sport New Zealand (formerly SPARC) to national sports organisations over the weekend. The paper urges sports groups to oppose Te Ururoa Flavell's Gambling (Gambling Harm Reduction) Amendment Bill.

"It is completely unacceptable that a crown entity such as Sport New Zealand is apparently lining up with pokie trusts and the gambling industry," said Ms Roche.

"Sport New Zealand's role is to promote sport at all levels throughout New Zealand rather than acting as a defacto PR organisation for the gaming industry," said Ms Roche.

"Sport New Zealand's chief executive Peter Miskimmin needs to state whether or not he approved the widespread distribution of a paper that actively opposes a Bill aimed at reducing the harm from gambling."

Ms Roche was also concerned that this is the second incident in recent weeks of opposition to the Bill being launched from within a Government organisation. Earlier this month a staff member at the Charities Commission distributed an email trying to drum up opposition to Mr Flavell's Bill.

The Charities Commission must urgently retract an email it sent out to charitable organisations ramping up opposition to legislation designed to crack down on gambling, says Labour’s Internal Affairs Spokesperson Ruth Dyson.

“This is an extraordinary act from a Government agency which is supposed to be independent. It is completely inappropriate for the Chief Executive to circulate pro-gambling information to charitable groups, advocating that they oppose Te Ururoa Flavell’s Member’s Bill which seeks to reduce the harm of problem gambling.

“It’s even more unbelievable given the commission has previously failed to register agencies as charities because they’ve been involved in advocacy work!

“Problem gambling is a major concern in New Zealand. Many communities have been working to get more control over pokies in their own area.  The Government has also recently been heavily criticised for offering Sky City a huge increase in the number of pokies they operate, in exchange for them building a convention centre in Auckland.

“Although the information provided in the email is not written by the Charities Commission, it has circulated it and given a very weak justification of the reason for doing so. They simply say that many charities are dependent on gambling funding, so there is a legitimate debate to be held.

“The debate certainly needs to be held, but the Charities Commission has gone against its own legislation of being independent and neutral on issues, as well as against its own advice in terms of advocacy.

The Chief Executive and the Minister responsible for the Commission need to step up to the plate and admit that this circulation of material is totally inappropriate. They must apologise to all those who received it. There are clear boundaries that have been breached in this instance, said Ruth Dyson.

You can download a copy of the emails here.