What is a Gambling Venue Policy?
Under the Gambling Act 2003 Council is required to have a Class 4 Gambling Policy.
The policy states Council's approach to where new gambling venues may be situated any restrictions on the number of pokie machines permitted, if this is less than the maximum number allowed under the Gambling Act.
Ashburton District Council Gambling Venue Policy was adopted in March 2013. The Policy must be reviewed at least every three years.
Read Council's Gambling Venue Policy
Social effects of gambling
To inform the recent review of the Ashburton
District Gambling Venue Policy, a report assessing the social impact of
gambling in the district, including any changes and trends which may have
emerged since 2010 was completed in July 2016. Under the Gambling Act 2003, a
Gambling Venue Policy must be reviewed every three years.
Overall, this report shows that the state of class 4 gambling in Ashburton
District has not changed significantly since the adoption of the 2013 policy.
Ashburton District has maintained its favourable comparison in terms of
gambling participation, expenditure and problem gambling prevalence.
The overall number of gaming venues has stayed static since the adoption of
this policy, and the number of gaming machines has steadily declined over the
past three years.
Council has prepared a Social Assessment Report which is available here.