Short Term Pressure Expected On Community Grant Funding Following A Decrease In Gambling Activity In Q1 2023

A 7.44 percent drop in quarterly gaming machine profits (GMP) for Q1 of 2023 is not expected to be a long term issue but does put some short term pressure on community grant funding, says Peter Dengate Thrush, independent chair of the Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand (GMANZ). The quarterly drop translates to a decrease of more than $20m available for community groups and initiatives across Aotearoa.

“While on the surface it looks sizable, we’re confident that this drop won’t create a long term pressure on the availability of funding for community grants,” says Dengate Thrush. “We’re hopeful that groups, initiatives, and projects supported by Class 4 funding won’t lose out on critical funding in 2023 despite this quarter’s downturn.”

“The rolling year-on-year data from last March shows an increase in profits of 4.33 percent this year, or an increase of $43,906,487. It’s important to note that this increase is below the rate of inflation which means the increase to funding we’ve seen won’t actually go as far,” says Dengate Thrush. “This year the industry will be able to deliver a substantial contribution to the Problem Gambling Levy to fund gambling harm prevention services, as well as offer more surety for the thousands of community organisations nationwide which access gaming machine funds.”

“We’re largely in support of the Government’s newly-released regulations to help prevent problem gambling and gambling harm, and believe they’re a step in the right direction,” says Dengate Thrush. “But they don’t go far enough in some ways to stop gambling harm. As part of GMANZ’s submission, we also called for NZQA-accredited training to be made available for venue staff, funding of facial recognition technology, and stronger consequences for licensees who are found in breach of the Gambling Act.”

“We want to see problem gambling reduced to zero, and by being able to give even more to the Problem Gambling Levy we think we can help head in that direction,” says Dengate Thrush. “Making sure Kiwi families have access to sports, arts, community organisations and support networks is a major benefit to our community. Class 4-funded initiatives are central to many communities around Aotearoa, especially rurally, and make a real difference in peoples’ lives.”

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