Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm 2016/17 to 2018/19: Proposals document

Published online: 
30 October 2015
Publication cover

Summary

On 31 July 2015, the Ministry of Health released a consultation document on its draft Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm for 2016/17 to 2018/19, for a six-week period of consultation.

During the consultation period, general consultation meetings were held in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin; Māori, Pacific, and Asian viewpoints meetings and a meeting for the gambling industry were held in Auckland; and another meeting for the industry was held in Wellington.

By the close of the consultation period, on 11 September 2015, the Ministry had received a total of 47 written submissions representing a range of groups and individuals.

An external contractor, Allen and Clarke, analysed the submissions and has produced Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm 2016/17 to 2018/19: Submissions analysis for the Ministry of Health (docx, 790 KB)(pdf, 978 KB). This report and the submissions informed the Ministry’s final proposals.

The Ministry has also produced a supporting document, Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm 2016/17 to 2018/19: Ministry of Health’s Response to Issues Raised in Submissions (docx, 82 KB)(pdf, 174 KB) which sets out in table form the key issues raised in the submissions and the Ministry’s response to each issue.

The Ministry appreciates the contribution made by those who participated in the consultation process.

The proposals

The Ministry re-considered its draft Strategy and estimated problem gambling levy rates in the light of feedback from the consultation meetings and submissions. It also took into account updated gambling expenditure figures received after the consultation document was written.

Some changes were made to the draft Strategy as a result of the consultation, but these changes were not substantive. There was no change to the amount of money required to implement the proposed Strategy for the 2016/17 to 2018/19 period. However, there was a small reduction in the total amount that gambling operators were expected to pay in levy over the 12-year period to 30 June 2016. As a result of this change, the updated gambling expenditure figures, and the crediting of Ministry underspends to the levy periods in which they occurred, there were some changes to the levy rates for three of the four levy-paying sectors.

The Ministry’s proposed strategy and levy rates document is available for download in the box above.

Once again, thank you to those who made submissions. We appreciate your participation in this process.

Next steps

The Gambling Commission will convene a consultation meeting, to which it will invite a selected group of stakeholders. It will subsequently submit its recommendations to Ministers of Health and Internal Affairs.

The Ministry expects Cabinet to approve the new Strategy in March 2016, and regulations to be made and the new Strategy and levy rates to be published in May 2016. The new Strategy and the new levy rates come into effect on 1 July 2016.

Publishing information

  • Date of publication:
    30 October 2015
  • ISBN:
    978-0-947491-15-4
  • HP number:
    6281
  • Citation:
    Ministry of Health, 2015. Strategy to Prevent and Minimise Gambling Harm 2016/17 to 2018/19: Proposals document.
  • Ordering information:
    Only soft copy available to download
  • Copyright status:

    Owned by the Ministry of Health and licensed for reuse under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

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