The Lion Foundation

What The Lion Foundation does

The Lion Foundation (legally registered as The Lion Foundation 2008) is a New Zealand charitable trust established in 1985 that operates as one of the country's oldest and most established community gaming trusts. The organization runs Class 4 gaming machines in pubs and hotels across New Zealand under a license from the Department of Internal Affairs granted pursuant to the Gambling Act 2003, and is required to distribute a minimum of 40% of net gaming proceeds to community organizations. The Lion Foundation's policy is to return approximately 90% of funds available for grants to the community of origin (generally within a 5km radius of its gaming venues), with the remaining 10% directed to major national causes including Royal New Zealand Plunket Trust, Surf Life Saving NZ, and Assistance Dogs NZ. Since inception, the trust has returned over $1.1 billion to community organizations and distributed approximately $36.5 million in grants to 2,366+ community-based charitable organizations in its most recent reported year.

The Foundation's core product is its grants distribution service, supported by a technology stack built around the COMS Online Grants Portal (developed and maintained by COMS Systems Limited), which handles the end-to-end grant lifecycle including application submission, assessment, Net Proceeds Committee (NPC) meeting allocation, approval communication, and audit/accountability reporting. A separate SharePoint-based Venue Portal serves gaming venue operators (pubs and hotels) for operational compliance. The Foundation operates a regional account management structure with Senior Account Managers and Account Managers covering Northern/Waikato, Bay of Plenty/Central, Southern, Auckland/Northland, and Otago/Southland regions to support both grant applicants and venue operators. The organization maintains compliance with the Privacy Act 2020, Gambling Act 2003, and the Gambling (Harm Prevention and Minimisation) Regulations 2004, with a Department of Internal Affairs-approved Duty of Care Policy adopted in 2024.

The business model is structured as a non-profit charitable trust with no commercial pricing arrangements; revenue is generated exclusively from Class 4 gaming machine operations in venue partnerships across New Zealand, and all proceeds are either redistributed as grants to community organizations or used to cover operating costs, regulatory levies (including a Problem Gambling Levy of approximately $13 million annually to the Ministry of Health), and government taxes (the Class 4 model contributes $200+ million annually to government). The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees (Peter Kean as Chair since January 2023, Jackie Lloyd as Deputy Chair, Murray Gutry, Karl Rosnell, and David Steele) and led by Chief Executive Tony Goldfinch alongside an executive team including GMs for Operations, People, and Business. The organization employs 42 staff and is headquartered at Level 11, AIG Building, 41 Shortland Street, Auckland.

Name

The Lion Foundation

Legal name

The Lion Foundation 2008

Website

https://lionfoundation.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Lion Foundation is a New Zealand charitable trust established in 1985 that operates Class 4 gaming machines in pubs and hotels under the Gambling Act 2003, distributing approximately $36.5 million annually to over 2,366 community organizations across health, education, sports, arts, and culture nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Grant Distribution / Community Gaming Trust

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors) (BPADAOAB)

Keywords

• Charitable grant funding
• Community gaming trust
• Class 4 gambling operator
• Nonprofit grant distribution
• Gaming venue partnership

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Lion Foundation operates Class 4 gaming machines in pubs and hotels across New Zealand under the Gambling Act 2003 and redistributes net proceeds as grants to eligible community organisations. Approximately 90% of funds available for grants are returned to the community of origin, with the remaining 10% supporting major national causes such as Plunket, Surf Life Saving NZ and Assistance Dogs NZ. Grant applications are processed end-to-end through the COMS online grants portal.

Product overview

The Lion Foundation operates as a Community Gaming Trust that distributes gaming machine proceeds to community organisations. The core offering is its grants distribution service, which uses the COMS Systems Limited online grants portal for application processing. The organisation partners with venues (pubs and hotels) across New Zealand to operate gaming machines, returning approximately 90% of funds to local communities and 10% to national causes. The primary service components are: the COMS Grants Portal (application and accountability management), venue operations, and the grants distribution program itself.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Community Gaming Grants Distribution End-to-end grants distribution programme funded by net Class 4 gaming machine proceeds, returning approximately 90% of available grant funds to the community of origin and 10% to national causes. For eligible New Zealand community-based charitable organisations incorporated under the Incorporated Societies Act, Charitable Trusts Act or Act of Parliament.
• COMS Grants Portal Cloud-hosted online grants portal (developed and maintained by COMS Systems Limited) used by eligible community organisations to create accounts, submit grant applications, track application status and complete audit/accountability requirements for grants approved after 1 January 2025.
• Venue Partnership Program Partnership programme for pubs and hotels hosting Class 4 gaming machines under The Lion Foundation, providing venue operator relationships, harm minimisation and Duty of Care compliance support, and community benefit distribution through the Class 4 gaming model.
• Venue Locator Web-based search tool that allows applicants and the public to find Lion Foundation gaming venues within a specified radius (default 5km) and location to confirm eligibility for funding from a nearby venue.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $1.1 billion returned to community since 1985
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Royal New Zealand Plunket TrustminorOthersNational cause receiving approximately 10% of remaining funds after local community distributions. Plunket provides health and support services to New Zealand families.
• Surf Life Saving NZminorOthersNational cause receiving approximately 10% of remaining funds. Provides beach safety and rescue services across New Zealand.
• Assistance Dogs NZminorOthersNational cause receiving approximately 10% of remaining funds. Provides trained assistance dogs to support New Zealanders with disabilities.
• COMS Systems LimitedcoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing and maintaining the online grants portal used for all grant applications, assessment processing, and accountability reporting.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pub Charity: One of New Zealand's largest Class 4 gambling charitable trusts, operating gaming machines in pubs and clubs and distributing proceeds to community organisations - the most direct comparable in terms of funding model, regulatory environment, and grantmaking activity.
• Southern Trust: NZ Class 4 gambling trust operating in the lower South Island, distributing gaming proceeds to community groups - a close peer in both funding mechanism and geographic community grantmaking.
• The Trusts Community Foundation: NZ community trust operating gaming venues and returning proceeds to local communities, structurally identical to The Lion Foundation's Class 4 model.
• New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT): Major NZ Class 4 gambling trust distributing gaming proceeds to community groups nationwide, with a similar grants distribution process and compliance obligations under the Gambling Act 2003.
• Pelorus Trust: Wellington-region Class 4 gambling charitable trust funding community organisations - directly comparable grantmaker with same revenue source and regulatory framework.

Broad incumbents

• Foundation North (formerly ASB Community Trust): Large NZ community foundation distributing philanthropic grants across the Auckland and Northland region - a broader grantmaking peer with a different funding model (endowment) but overlapping community beneficiary base.
• Lottery Grants Board (Lotto NZ): Statutory NZ grantmaking body distributing lottery proceeds to community, arts, sport and heritage sectors - a national-scale peer grantmaker, though funded by lottery rather than gaming machines.

Regional players

• Auckland Council: Provides community grants across the Auckland region - a partial geographic overlap with The Lion Foundation's Auckland/Northland footprint and a partial functional overlap in community grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lionfoundation
• Instagraminstagram.com/lionfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-lion-foundation

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Lion Foundation