The Gambling Amendment Bill (No 3) passed its third reading in Parliament yesterday and will become law once the Governor General signs it into law. That is likely to happen next week and some of the Bill’s provisions will take effect the day after the Royal assent.
It is important that Class 4 societies familiarise themselves with the amendments as some of the changes will directly affect operational processes.
Read more about the immediate impacts relating to the new GC5 Personal Information Form and adding management services providers as key persons in our 6 October 2015 edition.
Read the Bill as passed by Parliament.
The Bill focuses on Class 4 gambling. Key changes include:
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bringing management companies (defined as a “management services provider” in section 4) contracted by Class 4 societies into the Act’s regulatory framework;
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modifying the key person definition in relation to Class 4 venue licences by introducing an objective test of someone who has a significant interest and extending the definition to include a person who has the direct or indirect ability to exert a significant degree of influence over the management or operations of the venue;
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providing the Secretary with a discretion to issue Class 4 licences for up to three years;
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clarifying the prohibition of conflicts of interest in section 118 to make it clear that it is only improper conditions that are targeted by the section;
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simplifying the Act’s appeals framework by reinforcing the requirement to appeal decisions by the Secretary to the Gambling Commission first rather than seeking a judicial review;
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allowing the Secretary to take into account other matters besides those specifically mentioned in sections 52(4) and 68(1) when assessing an applicant’s compliance profile;
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new requirements for publicising societies’ grant applications. This includes disclosing any interest that any member of a net proceeds distribution committee has in a grant recipient that has received a grant from that committee. These requirements will come into effect later - either when supporting regulations have been made or a year after Royal assent, whichever comes first;
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allowing for the introduction of a new Class 4 venue payments scheme through regulations;
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clarifying that a Class 4 venue licence may not be issued to the New Zealand Racing Board if another corporate society holds, or had held, a Class 4 venue licence at any time in the past five years; and
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removing the word “directly” in relation to the banking of gaming machine profits to clarify the application of this section.
We will help you get to grips with the new requirements so contact us if you need assistance.
Future issues of Gambits:now will update you after the Royal assent and include more in-depth pieces on some of the changes in the Bill.
