In New Zealand, the Labour Party is working hard to get elected in the upcoming election. The group has launched a new campaign to that aims to get Kiwis on its side. One of the major policies includes a gambling review, which could give local councils the power to remove pokies from their communities. This week, Trevor Mallard has released Labour’s policies for the upcoming election.

There is a focus on gambling, as Labour wants to conduct a thorough review of gambling policies in New Zealand. This will include a look at the way in which pokies are governed in each jurisdiction.

“It will look at ways to strengthen the powers of communities and local authorities to determine the extent, location and nature of gambling outlets in their neighbourhoods, and seek to introduce effective gambling harm prevention and minimisation measures,” Mallard says. He states that this increased control over gambling venues and pokies may mean that councillors can phase out the games.

This could be a game-changing opportunity for the poker machine industry, as many city councils have expressed concerns about the number of pokies in local clubs and pubs. The policy aims to focus more on the enforcement of gambling regulations. With news of many Gambling Act breaches as many trusts have been found to misappropriate gambling funding, there is the need for stricter enforcement of gambling laws.

So, Labour aims to deal with this issue. The party will also continue to collect the levy which supports counselling, intervention and public health services for problem gamblers. Voluntary agencies will continue to receive funding and support from the industry. Another policy will support the right of counselling services to advocate for problem gamblers to obtain better regulation and health policies.

To view the full gambling policy, visit: http://campaign.labour.org.nz/internal_affairs.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.