Our responsibilities in regard to gambling
Councils have responsibilities under the
Gambling Act and
Racing Industry Act to help regulate gambling. Councils must also have policies about Class 4 gambling (pokie machines) and TAB venues.
TAB Venue Policy
This policy states that new TAB venues require our approval.
Our policy limits the number of venues in Auckland to 43. This is equal to the number of venues across Auckland before the policy was adopted. This means the TAB may move its stand-alone venues within Auckland, but can have no more than 43 venues at any one time.
If an existing venue closes, a new TAB cannot open or move to within 50m of a place of worship, school, early childhood education facility or marae.
We do not have the authority to manage TAB facilities in pubs, clubs and self-service TAB machines.
Get a copy of the TAB Venue Policy
Class 4 Gambling (Pokie) Venue Policy
Sinking lid policy
We have a 'sinking lid' policy for TAB venues and gaming machines. This means that when an existing Class 4 (pokie) venue closes, we will not give consent for another to open.
It also means that a venue cannot increase its number of gaming machines, and that if a venue reduces the number of its machines, it cannot replace them later.
Over time, this will lead to a decrease in the number of venues and machines.
The policy also means that existing class 4 venues will not be able to relocate from one part of the city to another.
Merging venues
Class 4 venues will only be able to merge if they are club venues.
The merged venue must have fewer gaming machines than the sum of the two existing venues' gaming machines.
Get a copy of the Class 4 Gambling (pokie) Venue Policy
Gambling venue policies review
In 2016 and 2017, our staff reviewed the effectiveness of the two gambling venue policies.
We completed additional reviews in:
- June 2017 (first review)
- October 2020 (second review)
- March 2024 (third review).
After each review, the Regulatory Committee agreed to keep the existing policies with no changes.