Raffles and games of chance
Gambling Act 2003
The Gambling Act 2003 came in to force on 1 July 2004. It brought major changes to all forms of gambling, including removing the requirement for lottery draws to be made under Police supervision.
Lottery draws must still be supervised but now appropriate people in the community, in addition to Police, can supervise them (lottery game rule 6(14)). The person must be independent of the organisation conducting the lottery and can be, but is not necessarily limited to, a person who can take declarations under section 9 of the Oaths and Declarations Act. This includes a:
- barrister and solicitor of the High Court
- Justice of the Peace
- Notary Public
- Registrar or Deputy Registrar of the District Court, High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme Court
- someone authorised by law to administer an oath
- Member of Parliament.
Under the Gambling Act prizes can total up to $5,000 before a licence is needed, so most community groups using raffles, housie and games of chance for fundraising no longer have to pay licensing and compliance fees.
The Department of Internal Affairs has published a series of fact sheets about the Act, including fact sheet 18 "Housie" and fact sheet 9 "Conducting Class 1 and Class 2 Gambling", which cover most of the gambling operated by community groups. Organisers must comply with the gaming rules for the particular class of gambling.
The fact sheets are available to download:
In Class 1 gambling, prizes or potential turnover do not exceed $500.
In Class 2 gambling, prizes exceed $500 but do not exceed $5000. Potential turnover must not exceed $25 000. They must be run by a society, but do not need a licence.
In Class 3 gambling total prizes exceed $5,000. This class of gambling may only be run by a society and must have a licence, and in the case of regular gambling such as housie, must be run by a corporate society.
Class 4 gambling is any activity that involves the use of a gaming machine outside a casino.
For further information and copies of the fact sheets:
Website: www.dia.govt.nz
Email: gaming.compliance@dia.govt.nz
Phone: (04) 494 0700 or 0800 257 887
