Thank you to all those who have made submissions on the Online Casino Gambling Bill.  There is significant and growing opposition to this Bill, which proposes to license offshore multinational companies to conduct online gambling in New Zealand.   

The Minister’s own briefing paper describes online casino gambling as the most harmful form of gambling, with an estimated 15% of regular participants considered to be a problem or moderate risk gambler.

The greatest concern is that the Minister has seen fit to remove any obligation on the proposed 15 license holders to distribute any of the resulting profits to the community.  This contrasts greatly with the current land-based gaming, or pokies, where 100% of the profits must be distributed as community grants.

The proposed return of just 12% of revenue to the Government in Duty compares poorly to the over 80% of gross revenue currently returned in Duty, community grants and payments to local host venues by the current pokie system.

Any revenue lost from the current system to online will see a loss to the community at the expense of profits to offshore shareholders.

Martin Snedden, former Blackcap and World Cup organiser, has been actively opposed to the proposed legislation in its current form.  A recent interview with him on the subject is below.

33 sport bodies united in opposition to online gambling bill | Herald NOW

For those who have already submitted, thank you.  For those that haven’t this is a gentle request to ensure your voice is heard.

Online Casino Gambling Bill Submission - New Zealand Parliament

Martin Cheer
Managing Director