Mid Canterbury is looking at capping pokie machine venues at 20, but a local Anglican vicar has warned this will potentially increase gambling harm.
The district, including Ashburton, currently has 12 venues with pokie machines.
Critics say introducing a new cap set at 20 represents a potential jump in venues that risks increasing problem gambling at a time when online betting is already surging.
Rules for pokie machine venues were discussed during an Ashburton District Council meeting on its draft gambling policy on Tuesday.
Councillors discussed the changes to the policy, including introducing a cap on venues set at 20, to permit existing venues to relocate to an alternative site, but banning new or relocating venues in high-deprivation areas.
They also proposed to maintain a limit of machines in a new venue at 5.
Currently, there is no cap on venues or a defined approach to business relocations.
Deputy Mayor Richard Wilson supported the council introducing a new cap and felt 20 was an appropriate starting limit considering “you have 15,000 venues if people go online”.
Cr Carolyn Cameron said the council can’t control online gambling but it can control pokies machine and venue numbers in the district.
She suggested the cap should be 12, the number of venues currently, because she wasn’t aware of any complaints that there weren’t enough venues.
In the submission hearings, Anglican vicar Indrea Alexander didn’t support the cap as she said it would be an 80 per cent increase in venues from the 11 at the time the policy was last updated.
“That is not a change beneficial to our communities.”
She also addressed the threat of online gambling, suggesting it should not undermine council’s decisions on its area of influence.
Gaming Machine Association of New Zealand’s Jarrod True supported the 20 venue cap but questioned the five-machine limit for new venues, when the Gambling Act allows for nine.
He presented figures showing in the last 10 years there has been a 25% reduction in gambling machines in New Zealand but the “problem gambling rate has stayed exactly the same”.
The number of machines had reduced in the district, from 154 in 2015 down to 131 across in 11 venues June 2025.
It was also noted there had only been one new venue established in last five years, with five machines.
True said gaming machines “generate extremely valuable funding for local community and sporting groups”.
After taxes and overhead costs, including around $2.7m to hospitality venues hosting the machines, gambling losses from the machines resulted in $2.2m in grants in the district in 2024.
He also said “online gambling is clearly undesirable” and only 4% of its profits are returned as community grants and it doesn’t support local employment.
Youthtown Trust chief executive Fiona Allan also suggested any reduction in gaming machines only redirects gamblers away from a controlled environment and leads to increased activity through online gambling.
When the draft policy comes back to the council for adoption, there will likely be another round of debate over the proposed restrictions.
