New Zealand’s Harm Reduction Bill has gained a great deal of support thus far. However, there are some organizations that are not thrilled about the passing of this bill. The sports industry is one such group, fearing that fewer poker machines will result in less funding.
The Harm Reduction Bill would put the control of poker machines back into the hands of local city councils, which has been lauded by the general public. Another positive factor of the bill is that it would require operators to donate 80% of their profits to the local community. This sounds like it would benefit most community organizations, but sports clubs do not see it the same way.
Raelene Castle of Netball NZ states that lack of funding from poker machines would cause sports to suffer. He believes that it would drive participation costs up, reserving social sports leagues for individuals and families with higher incomes.
Castle is just one of many sports industry professionals that presented their concerns at the Harm Reduction Bill hearing earlier this week. It remains to be seen whether the council will amend the bill to better benefit sports leagues.
