A last-ditch bid to impose a "sinking lid" policy on Dunedin's gaming machines was unsuccessful yesterday, with a nine-to-five vote defeating the move.
A full meeting of the Dunedin City Council heard from Cr Michael Guest that while gaming machines "bordered on evil", the policy was working, with venue and machine numbers decreasing.
Figures showed Dunedin had 74 venues and 769 machines in 2004.
By 2009, those numbers had dropped to 48 venues with 599 machines.
Opponents argued the sinking lid policy would help make sure that kept happening.
The gambling and TAB subcommittee sat in February to hear submissions on the council's policy, and a report to yesterday's meeting recommended no change.
It did, though, recommend the policy be revisited in two years, rather than the three years required, or earlier if the situation changed, and that the Minister of Internal Affairs be urged to require gaming machines be moved to more open areas of venues.
The subcommittee of Crs Guest, Fliss Butcher, Colin Weatherall and John Bezett received 815 submissions on the issue, the vast majority in favour of a sinking-lid policy.
Such a policy would mean a prohibition on all new sites, and as the number of venues or machines fell, there would be no new approvals for either.
Subcommittee chairman Cr Guest said the council did not have the power, as the Government did, to ban the machines.
The subcommittee, apart from Cr Butcher, was taken with the steady decrease in the number of gaming machines.
"Everything seems to be on the move downward."
Figures were not available, but the machines provided funding for "good organisations" that would be more than $20 million in Dunedin.
Cr Guest said while there were 815 supporters of the sinking lid, many were form letters with "cunning" changes to make them look different.
That changed the weight the subcommittee gave to their argument.
Cr Butcher said she did not agree with the subcommittee's decision.
Submitters made it clear why the sinking lid was a good idea, and she was concerned by evidence from those running the machines that there was little they could do to stop people with gambling problems.
Some organisations were not accepting money from gaming trusts, and were doing well.
Cr Teresa Stevenson asked if form letters were not valid, and was told by Cr Guest they were, but the subcommittee could not ignore it when 300 people used "precisely the same language", but with the odd altered word, or altered font.
Cr Dave Cull said the sinking lid should be used to make sure the decrease in the number of machines continued, while Cr Chris Staynes said the good that came from the funding did not make up for the damage done by gambling addiction.
Crs Bill Acklin, John Bezett, Neil Collins, Guest, Paul Hudson, Andrew Noone, Richard Walls, Weatherall and Syd Brown voted to retain the current policy, while Crs Butcher, Cull, Staynes, Stevenson and Kate Wilson voted against.
Mayor Peter Chin, who is chief gambling commissioner, withdrew from the debate.
