Social impact assessments are an important function of Local territorial Authorities (LTA's), where they can be used as a tool to obtain data to inform policy development such as Local Gambling Policies. Rotorua Lakes Council have undertaken an assessment of the social impact of gambling and how this has changed since the last local gambling policy review, to inform their current policy review. Three pre-consultation meetings have been held, and the council will be seeking further public views through the consultation process. Their initial findings have found:
• Rotorua has a relatively high number of machines per person and a higher spend per person than the national average
• The ongoing social costs to Rotorua from gambling machines outweigh the benefits
• The relocation allowance within the current policy has enabled 36 machines to relocate within the inner city in the last 12 months
• The community is concerned about relocations of venues and machines, particularly to areas near schools, and strongly support a sinking-lid policy with an amended relocation policy
• Societies and venue operators involved in the meetings would like the status quo to remain, where relocations should be allowed for the sustainability of their business
Read the full report here
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