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NZGaming Magazine article Consequences The gaming industry has been beset with a raft of legislative and regulatory impositions. The most significant of these has been the Gambling Act and the smokefree legislation, and their consequent regulations. The industry fought long and hard over both of these pieces of legislation and while some changes were made to make them more workable and less draconian, they have had a significant impact on the gaming sector. With these new rules starting to settle in the consequences of the legislation are coming clear and are in no way surprising to the sector. The industry in its advocacy to the politicians and the officials have long indicated that the imposition of the new regime would have consequences. The consequences come as a result of actions taken by both patrons to the new rules and by the industry operators themselves. Patrons responded to the new smoking legislation by spending less time in gaming venues and gambling less. This has had consequences with societies and trusts operating gaming machines having less revenue to dispense. Operators have responded to lower venue expenses in a variety of ways, all of which are commercial. Some have determined that based on lower returns from venue expenses that gaming machines are not the most profitable use of the floor area or their time and have moved to rearrange their hospitality business accordingly. Some of these have indeed decided that other property uses are more commercially viable. Others have trimmed their operating times to match the limits on venue expenses with actual operating costs. Again, the consequences are less revenue for trusts and societies to dispense to the public. Another consequence is that smaller sites are disappearing as either trusts and societies have decided they’re no longer economic, or small sites decided that compliance costs associated with this small number of machines, low turnover and little or no venue expenses payable are simply not worth the effort. Consequences are that smaller rural communities have less fund-raising opportunities available. Overall the consequences for 2006 as the legislative changes settle is that venue operators will look to optimise venue expenses in a commercial way which will result in an increased focus on other hospitality options and inevitably less funds for the community. Bruce H Robertson
12 January 2006 |
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