Big decline in pokies funding

The Government is reaching out to the pokies industry over concerns funding for community causes will soon die out.

It is understood a discussion document released tomorrow will review whether gambling machine laws are ‘‘fit-for-purpose’’ and community funding is sustainable in the long-term.

There’s been a 33 per cent decline in funding from nonclub societies – those trusts and charities that own 13,000 of the 16,000 pokie machines outside of casinos. The rest are owned by clubs such as RSAs and and sports clubs.

Funding from non-club societies decreased from almost $400 million in 2004 to $260m in 2015. Overall gambling revenue was down $510m since Gambling Act changes in 2003.

The Southern Trust CEO Karen Shea called the pokies sector a ‘‘sunset industry’’.

‘‘There are a number of organisations that have actually had a reduction of funds available,’’ she said.

Her trust had a large rural and provincial focus as those areas had fewer ways to tap into corporate sponsorship and small populations for fundraising.

New Zealand laws state 40 per cent of pokies income must go into community initiatives.

The sector needs to be ‘‘more agile and move with the times’’, Shea said.

‘‘I’d hate to see the community model abandoned to a commercial model, because I don’t know where our communities would actually replace those funds from.’’

Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne said the review needed solutions for a balance between minimising risk of problem gambling and maximising benefits in returns to the community.

He wanted a restructure of the 38 trusts that owned machines, and would look at whether compliance costs on the industry were too high.

Dunne also wanted policy to be fit-for-purpose for the ‘‘foreseeable future’’.

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