Sports Clubs Suffering Unnecessarily

The Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF) believes that some pokie trusts are withholding funding to all sports in an attempt to gather support for changes that will enable them to continue to give money to horse racing.

As reported in the Weekend Herald several pokie trusts have stopped funding amateur sports following a recent Court decision.

The Travis judgement stated clearly that horse racing was not a charitable purpose. It also explained that some sports were not charitable, depending on their purpose.

In response some Trusts such as Eureka, which last year gave $1.2 million of its total $5.3 million grants to horse racing, have ceased giving money to both horse racing and all amateur sports.

“Each year pokie trusts give $25 million to horse racing. Was it ever envisaged that an industry that facilitates gambling would be propped up by charitable funds?” asks Problem Gambling Foundation CEO Graeme Ramsey.

Trevor Garrett, CEO of the Charities Commission, in a recent letter to the Christchurch Press states ‘sport can be the means by which charitable purposes are carried out’.

‘Sports and recreation organisations qualify for registration as charitable entities under the Charities Act (2005) if their purposes are charitable. The commission has already registered many sport and recreational organisations as charities and receives new applications every day’.

PGF challenges the decision by some trusts to stop funding all amateur sports.

“This looks to us like an attempt to gain grassroots support to influence Government to make the changes necessary for them to continue business as usual,” Graeme Ramsey says.

PGF believes that pokie machines are dangerous products that New Zealand communities would be better without.

“While they do exist we all must ensure that New Zealand communities get the best possible return. The current structure of 50 trusts, with self-appointed trustees coupled with the massive amounts of money involved leads to ongoing rorts and questionable practices. The whole system is in urgent need of a fundamental review,” says Graeme Ramsey.

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