The increase in online gambling in New Zealand also boosts the profits of communities in the form of charitable activities. Under the Gambling Act 2003, each of six casinos has to provide a level of funding for charity in this country. Actually, the Department of Internal Affairs aims to regulate and promote fair and responsible gambling.
This authority that controls gambling in various ways also includes the requirement of the gambling operators to give to charity because their donations significantly impact the development of the community and country. This idea to donate to charities was established in 2019 when Christchurch Casino received its 15-year licence extension with the obligation to donate 3% of its net proceeds. Today, the NZ Gambling Commission is reviewing the charity requirements and casino charities demand more money.
The NZ Casinos Have to Provide a Level of Funding
The casino operators are required to pay 40% of their profits in the form of community grants. Nonetheless, some of them donate less than 0.7% of their financial gains to charity each year. These pokies operators in clubs, TABs, and pubs (known as Class 4 gambling operators) operating in Auckland, Queenstown, Christchurch, Hamilton, and Dunedin that have flouted rules are being reviewed by the Gambling Commission whether they will be fined or not.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that the casinos haven’t kept up with the general requirement of charity. Also, the sites for real money bingo at CasinoDeps need to give the funds for charity. On the contrary, they provide a level of funding for charity despite the very low percentages. For example, SkyCity Hamilton gave close to 2% of its earnings and SkyCity Queenstown Casino donated at least 2.5% of its annual net profit, meaning around $100,000 per year. As for SkyCity Auckland, the casino only provided 0.7% of its turnover or a minimum of $500,000 to its charitable branch. Christchurch Casino gives the greater with 2.5% of its annual net profit or around $250,000.
Dunedin Casino paid at least $52,000 to independent charitable trust and around $110,000 or 1% of gaming machine turnover to community and sports groups. Concerning the Victoria St casino, the operator granted 1.5% of pokie profits to the community.
The Casinos are Required to Pay 40% of Their Turnover
According to Aaron Hawkins, a Dunedin mayor, a submission was discussed by his council with the goal to establish a more steady policy regarding the community funding provided by the casinos. This review was confirmed by the chief executive of the Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand, Paula Snowden. As stated by Paula Snowden, while she acclaimed the demand of the council to establish a stricter law at the casino level, she noticed that SkyCity Hamilton inked a lot of sponsorships to promote its brand.
Although they are trying to show the public that they are donating to society, the value of those contributions is nothing compared to the money lost from the community due to gambling. Andree Froude, spokeswoman for the Problem Gambling Foundation sustained the idea to review casino charity requirements and focus on gambling harm reduction by ensuring that the casinos are providing effective responsibility schemes. As the amount of charity cannot make up for the far-reaching impacts on gambling, prioritizing to help the most vulnerable players in society should be crucial.
The Class 4 gambling operators are required by law to return at least 40% of their earnings from the gaming machines. Thus, the six casinos in the country should be also tied by these rules. The former Casino Control Authority will define the amount of annual contribution made by these casinos to a charitable action that will be under the terms of the casino’s venue licence.