In November, a proposed policy was approved by Hamilton City Council (the Council) for consultation between February and March 2018 asking for public feedback. The proposed policy (found within the statement of proposal, here) was a sinking lid policy with no relocations or mergers allowed whereas the existing policy is a sinking lid policy only allowing for limited relocations and mergers.
74 written submissions were received at the close of the consultation in March 2018 and 26 verbal submissions were heard in April 2018.
The written responses received have been published and are available to view by clicking here.
A majority, 56 out of 74 (76%), of the written submitters stated that the proposed policy was too restrictive.
The Council decided in May 2018 to retain its existing policy which allows for limited relocations and mergers. The existing policy is scheduled for review by September 2019. A link to the existing policy can be found on Council's website at www.hamilton.govt.nz/policies or click here to view.
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Consultation closed.
Hamilton City Council (the Council) is seeking feedback on a revised policy for Class 4 Gambling (proposed policy).
The proposed prohibits the creation of new and relocation of existing venues and clubs which have gambling machines within Hamilton City.
Before making any final decisions, we’d like to have your input. You can give us feedback from 5 February 2018 to 5 March 2018.
Background
Class 4 gambling activity in New Zealand is regulated by the Gambling Act 2003. The legislation is primarily enforced at a national level by the Department of Internal Affairs, though councils play a small regulatory role in relation to Class 4 venues i.e. venues with non-casino gaming machines.
Under the Gambling Act 2003, councils must have in place a policy that specifies:
The policy may also specify restrictions on the maximum number of gaming machines that can be operated at a class 4 venue within Hamilton City.
More information
For more information about what is being proposed including the proposed policy, scroll down to the “Related” heading below and click on the link to view the statement of proposal.
NOTE:
** Please be aware when providing personal information that all responses are part of the consultation process. As such it may be reproduced and included in Council's public documents such as Council agendas and minutes. These documents are available on Council's website at hamilton.govt.nz
Council is proposing a new draft policy Option A : adopt a the draft Class 4 Policy which has a sinking lid on venues and machines with no relocations or mergers permitted.
The key elements are:
Relocations
- No relocations permitted.
(Example: a venue site that is destroyed by fire will not be permitted to relocate to another venue site.)
Club Mergers
- No club mergers permitted.
(Example: A club that is destroyed due to a fire will not be permitted to merge its gambling operations with another club.)
The alternative is Option B : Do not accept the draft Class 4 Policy which means that the existing policy will remain in place until it is reviewed (scheduled review date September 2019).
For further information on these options, see statement of proposal under "Related" heading below.
Council will be hearing verbal submissions from those who wished to speak in support of their submission at the Regulatory and Hearings subcommittee meeting on 24 April 2018 in the Council Chambers. This is a public forum which anyone can attend to listen to the proceedings, or tune into the live feed on the specified day at www.hamilton.govt.nz/livestream
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