Responsible Entertainment

Last updated: 3 August 2026

PromoLineup produces themed entertainment. The theme borrows the tables, the chips and the theatre of a classic game room — and deliberately leaves everything else behind. This page explains, in plain language, how our events work and the standards we apply to keep them what they are: a good evening, and nothing more.

Our position under the Gambling Act 2003

New Zealand law defines gambling as paying or staking something to enter a game of chance where a prize can be won. Two elements have to be present: consideration — the guest pays or stakes something — and a prize of money or money's worth.

Neither is present at our events. Guests pay nothing, ever: chips are issued free at the door by the client's arrangement, and no guest may buy, top up beyond a free restack, sell, exchange, bank or redeem them. Nothing of monetary value is awarded on any result: the evening ends with a leaderboard, a trophy and a photograph. Because there is neither consideration nor prize, our events do not constitute gambling and require no gaming licence from the Department of Internal Affairs. Where a venue's compliance officer asks, we supply that position as a signed statement alongside the run sheet.

We do not operate online

PromoLineup does not offer online gambling, online casino games, betting, sweepstakes, lotteries or any form of remote gaming. Nothing on this website can be played. There is no game, no demonstration mode, no downloadable application, no player account, no deposit, no wallet and no payment for play anywhere in our business, and we do not promote, sponsor, resell or link to any third-party gambling platform.

This website has exactly two purposes: to describe an event service, and to receive booking enquiries from the people organising an event. Every game we run happens in a physical room, at a physical table, with one of our hosts standing at it.

How our events work

• Symbolic chips only. Every guest receives the same set of branded chips at the door, free of charge. The chips have no monetary value. They cannot be bought, sold, topped up, exchanged or redeemed — during the event or after it.
• No money at any table. There are no buy-ins, no cash play, no card terminals and no monetary outcome of any game. The evening ends with a chip count, a leaderboard and a trophy for the top-scoring table — that is the entire economy of the event.
• Hosted, not dealt against. Our table hosts are entertainers and teachers. Their job is participation and pace, not advantage. House rules are explained openly before every session and printed on the table cards.
• Private and 18+. Events are closed functions for adult guests invited by our client. We do not run public events, we do not run children's or school events, and we do not admit guests under 18 to the tables.
• No alcohol from us. We do not supply, serve or sell alcohol. Where a venue or client bar operates, our hosts work with its staff and follow the venue's host responsibility policy.

What we will not do

We decline requests — and have declined them — to:

• attach money, vouchers, gift cards or anything of monetary value to chip counts or game outcomes;
• charge guests for chips, additional chips or table access, in any form, including through a ticket price;
• run events that are open to the general public rather than an invited guest list;
• operate our tables as a fundraiser where entry is paid and a prize is awarded;
• present our services as anything other than entertainment, in our materials or in a client's.

These boundaries are written into every event agreement and are not negotiable, whatever the budget. In five years we have turned down eleven enquiries on this basis; the count is published here on purpose.

Guest wellbeing

Even with symbolic chips, we design for a healthy evening:

• hosts are trained to keep the tone light and inclusive, and to cool down any table where competitiveness stops being enjoyable;
• participation is always optional — our floor plans include space to socialise away from the tables, and no guest is ever pressed to play;
• session lengths are capped in the run sheet so the tables are one part of the evening, not the whole of it;
• hosts are briefed to step back from any guest who appears uncomfortable, and to raise it with the producer rather than handle it at the table;
• any guest or client can raise a concern with the on-site producer at any time during an event.

If a guest wants information about gambling

Our events are not gambling, and we do not present them as practice for it. If a guest or client asks us where to find help or information, we point to the New Zealand services below rather than offering an opinion of our own:

• Gambling Helpline — 0800 654 655, free, 24 hours
• Need to Talk? — free call or text 1737, any time
• Problem Gambling Foundation — 0800 664 262
• choicenotchance.org.nz — information and support, Health New Zealand
• dia.govt.nz — Department of Internal Affairs, the regulator of gambling in New Zealand

If you have questions or concerns

If anything about an event we produced did not meet the standards on this page, we want to know. Contact us at [email protected] or +64 9 358 4172 and ask for the Client Director. We respond to every concern within two working days, in writing, and the response comes from a person rather than a template.