Gambling Act Welcomed

The Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand welcomes the passage of the Gambling Act.

GMANZ Chairman, Garry Ward, says GMANZ believe the Government has struck the right balance between keeping gaming viable and giving communities more say about the number of pokie machines allowed in their areas.

“While we have heard a lot of hysterical debate from those who are anti gaming during the passage of this legislation, the fact is that pokies in Pubs, Sports Clubs, Hotels and Taverns put $260 million back into their local communities every year. This is unique world-wide and would be hard to replace.

GMANZ applauds the Government and United Future for allowing the allocation of funds to be done at a local level, where the applicants reside. “Centralised bureaucratic distribution tends to be costly and less community friendly”, he says.

Garry Ward says the role of the Government is to create legislation which takes into account the concerns of the community about problem gambling, but balances that with the right of the majority of people who gamble with no ill effects”.

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