Anti-gambling campaigners shared that casino venues are at risk of becoming poker machines dens as venues justify falling patronage for the necessity to cut the gaming table numbers.
This issue was highlighted in recent submissions to the local Gambling Commission after the operator of the Grand Casino – Dunedin Casinos Management Ltd – applied to vary its operating licence. The casino was willing to slash the mandatory requirement to feature at least one operational gaming table for play between 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM.
One of the main reasons that the casino company pointed out to justify its application was the fact that it had lost revenue because of the coronavirus pandemic. Some of the difficulties faced by the operator originated from the fact that the closures associated with the Covid-19 safety and social distancing measures cut the flow of cruise ship passengers to Dunedin, so the number of potential casino patrons at the casino was sharply reduced.
According to the submission, the loss of casino patrons eventually led to some job losses at the gambling venue, and the casino operator was forced to consider various scenarios to make sure that its business remained viable and competitive.
More New Zealand Casinos Rely Mainly on Poker Machines, Campaigners Say
The high-street Dunedin casino wanted to get permission to operate one gaming table between 12:00 PM and 6:00 PM in case there was such a demand but eventually claimed this remains impossible in the current environment. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) agreed to allow it to do that but also noted that such a move practically has no useful purpose to be staffed at a time when no customers were playing at the casino.
Still, the move faced the opposition of a number of submitters.
As noted by the Ministry of Health, New Zealand casinos were reducing their table game operations and expanding the number of their gaming machines to become primarily electronic gambling terminal venues. However, as the Ministry said, gaming machines, which are also known as poker machines or pokies, have been considered the most dangerous and harmful form of gambling that is currently available across the country. The Ministry of Health’s submission noted that if changes to casino licence conditions keep moving in this direction, then it is very likely that casinos stop offering table games, which would pretty much eliminate one of the main components why such venues are considered “casinos” in the first place.
The largest gambling charity in the country – the Problem Gambling Foundation – revealed that Dunedin was not the only location in New Zealand where table game hours had been reduced. Casinos in Hamilton, Queenstown, Wharf and Christchurch also did that. The charity organisation shared its concern that casinos were becoming gaming machine venues rather than sticking to what a casino should be like.
A spokesperson of the foundation commented for Stuff that casinos would start operating predominantly what she described as poker machine dens in case the availability of traditional table games continued to decline. On the other hand, casinos should not be venues that offer mostly controversial pokies, which have been proved as the most harmful form of gambling in New Zealand.
- Author
Daniel Williams
