Gambling Venues and Street Use Policies, and Traffic & Parking Bylaw

We have not looked into how moving location might affect business for gambling venues and we do not decide if they choose to move or not.

The council does not make money from gambling venues. Occasionally, the council applies to the grants organisations (which give out some of the money pokies make) to fund community projects. If the application is successful, the grant money can make a difference for the funding of community projects in our city.

In 2022, funding from gambling in Tauranga provided $7,669,928 to sports organisations, $2,064,682.88 to community groups, and $1,237,961.54 to community services in our city.

Gambling venues wishing to move would only be able to move to commercial or industrial zones that are more than 100 m away from residential zones with a deprivation index of 8, 9, or 10. You can find the maps of these areas in the Resources section of this page.

Data from the national Census is used by researchers at the University of Otago to create an index of socioeconomic deprivation (a series of ways we can measure the wellbeing of people in different areas). We use this index and our city plan to mark the areas on the maps where gambling venues can and can’t move to.

Research by the Ministry of Health found that the likelihood of people gambling is strongly linked with how closely they live to the nearest gambling venue. We think allowing gambling venues to move away from areas of high deprivation – where people’s wellbeing might already be affected by other things – may help reduce gambling harm in our communities.

There are currently 32 Class 4 venues (places with pokies) and four TAB venues (which also have pokies) in Tauranga City. There are 469 gaming machines (pokies) operating in our city (as of June 2023).

The Department of Internal Affairs licenses gambling venues in New Zealand, and councils control the number and location of them through policies like ours.

Under the council’s current policy, no new gambling venues can be opened in Tauranga City and pokie machine numbers cannot increase.

Yes, over time as the policy is phased in. The charges will then be set each year through the council’s user fees and charges process, which is when we look at the fees charged for lots of different services and facilities we provide. This process is consulted on publicly every year.

The charges are administration fees, rental fees and refundable bonds for any potential damage caused by businesses using these public streets, and this money contributes to the maintenance and improvement of the city’s public spaces.

As a part of this policy, businesses using public streets for dining will need to have a smoke and vape free policy for these spaces.

Artificial grass is bad for the environment because it puts microplastics into our environment and waterways. It also needs to be replaced often (every 2-10 years on average) as things like cigarettes cause it to melt. Discarded artificial grass then goes to landfill where, because it’s made of plastic, it won’t break down.

On top of that, artificial grass doesn’t allow rain or stormwater to run through it, so it affects how heavy rain can be managed in the city.

We’re asking residents to plant their berms with grass or other plants to create a more positive environmental impact.

This policy only applies to berms outside private properties – people’s homes and land, and landlords’ properties.

If residents have trouble maintaining a grass berm, the council can connect residents with support services or suggest different options such as low-maintenance planting or other types of natural groundcover material.