Dalton was found guilty of 271 counts of fraud. She had submitted 271 applications for emergency funding on behalf of victims of domestic abuse. The total of all the applications was more than $100 000, and she applied for amounts of up to $500 at a time. The money was supposed to be allocated to individuals who needed to escape from their abusive partners, but Dalton spent the money on her gambling addiction.

Her defense lawyer, John Lyons, claimed that her gambling addiction developed as a result of stress. Her job required her to deal with aggressive and violent individuals on a daily basis, and she viewed gambling as a way to escape the harsh reality of her profession.

“On many occasions she had to deal with aggressive, violent and abusive members of the public,” he said.

According to Lyons, Dalton was faced with death threats regularly. One man stated that he would shoot her down after she left work while another threatened to stab her. On a regular basis, she had to be escorted to and from work by the police.

The stress of the job led to the development of depression, and Dalton turned to gambling to numb the pain. Many gambling addicts use playing pokies as a form of escapism, but it was not a good enough excuse for the court. Dalton was found guilty of all 271 counts of falsifying documents. The prosecutor will make his sentencing submissions by July 31st.

This is yet another occasion that proves the dangers of gambling addiction. On many occasions, individuals steal from friends, family and coworkers to fund their addictions – but Dalton stole from people in need. There is certainly the need to enforce stricter safeguards on government funding, and improved gambling addiction programs.

The Victorian government cancelled TabCorp’s gaming contract, which consisted of a duopoly with Tatts Group, 46 days into the financial year. As such, the group should not have been required to pay the full Health Benefit – if any of it at all.

For years, TabCorp and Tatts Group operated all of the poker machines in Victoria. Last year, the local government decided that it would be best to disband the duopoly and allow the owners of the pokies to operate the games. The two companies conceded defeat and did not fight the decision. Now, they have become outraged that the Victorian government has insisted on charging them for the full health benefit.

Tatts Group originally stated that it did not want to take legal action. The company, which is facing a similar charge, wanted to open up a dialogue with the government before going to court. Apparently, TabCorp is not as patient. According to Treasurer Michael O’Brien, the first instalment of the levy is due on May 31st, and it is worth $31 million. TabCorp hopes to comes to a solution before the due date.

While TabCorp prepares to go to court, Tatts Group has yet to take any action. The company has yet to announce its plans for fighting the Health Benefit charge.

Due to the gaming law changes, the Victorian government expects to earn $1.154 billion in gaming taxes. This would mark an impressive 7% increase on last year’s earnings.

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If you’re more interested in real-money pokies, IGT has also recently released a new Star Trek pokie called Against All Odds. This game offers players the chance to win real cash jackpots, and is available at a wide range of online casinos and land-based gambling venues.

A recent poll showed that the majority of Auckland residents are against adding new pokies to the city. Of the 500 residents that were interviewed 74.8% supported a reduction in the number of poker machines in Auckland. Less than 1% said that they would like to see more pokies and 12.8% were undecided.

These statistics back the recent submission that local residents made to the Auckland City Council. Last month, over 10 000submissions were made in support of a sinking lid policy. Despite the support for the policy, Prime Minister John Key and Sky City continued to negotiate adding new pokies to Auckland’s biggest casino in return for the gambling operator building the city’s new convention centre.

“Not only did 10,258 people and organisations (99% of submissions) submit to Council in favour of a ‘sinking lid’ on pokies, but this poll shows that Aucklanders overwhelmingly support a ‘sinking lid’ policy,” says Tony Milne, National Manager of Public Health for the Problem Gambling Foundation. “We are encouraging the Council to listen to this result, say no to more pokies and choose a healthier future for our children”.

The results of the poll were presented the Auckland Council’s gambling review hearing. Members of the public were also in attendance, ensuring that they made their voices heard with regards to imposing a new sinking lid policy in Auckland. Local residents truly believe that having fewer pokies in the city will discourage problem gambling rates from rising, and they will continue to fight for this cause.

Players can enter into the competition simply by depositing cash at the online casino. For every $500 they deposit, they win one entry into the draw. $2000 awards four entries and $5000 awards ten entries.

If $500 to $5000 sounds like a lot of money, you’re in luck. You have until August 12th, 2013 to earn your entries, so you can take 12 weeks to deposit the necessary funds. You can also accumulate as many entries as you want between now and the deadline. The more entries you earn, the better your chances of winning – and there is plenty of time to earn them.

The winner of the promotion will be drawn on September 2nd, 2013. The winner of the prize must take their cruise within four months of claiming it. The prize includes all expense, including port charges, accommodation, meals and entertainment.

The Diamond Princess will take the winner on a 8-day tour of New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania. It is one of the biggest cruise ships in existence, and offers a wide range of entertainment, gourmet food and beautiful views. There are a number of fantastic amenities, including spas, fitness centres, a theatre, an art gallery, a casino and a disco.

A trip on this beautiful cruise would normally cost tens of thousands of dollars, but players at Grand Reef online casino can potentially earn their ticket on board simply by depositing $500. It certainly is great value, and we’d highly recommend taking advantage of this generous promotion over the course of the summer.

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The deal has come under fire many times, and there was doubt that it would ever come to fruition. Over the course of the past year, Sky City and Prime Minister John Key have been criticized for keeping the details of the deal quiet. The Auditor General was even called in to confirm the legitimacy of the deal.

Now, those difficulties are a distant memory. Sky City is the official builder of Auckland’s new convention centre. Although the cost was originally estimated at $350 million, Sky City will be shelling out $402 million to build the venue. $315 million will be spent on construction and $87 million will go towards land costs.

The convention centre will be greatly beneficial for the city of Auckland. It is estimated that the venue will bring in 33 000 convention delegates every year, boosting the local tourism industry. The convention centre will also create 1000 construction jobs and 800 jobs once the centre is open for business.

“This will make us more competitive on the international stage,” says Sky City head Nigel Morrison. “It will allow the company to provide the facilities and services that our interstate and international guests expect.”

In return for making such a significant investment, Sky City will reap some huge benefits. In addition to obtaining 230 new pokies and 40 new table games, the operator’s gambling license has also been extended. Originally, the license was set to expire in 2021. Now, SkyCity Auckland can operate until at least 2042.

Clubs, pubs and hotels with 60 or more pokies will be classified as ‘major’ pokie venues. So, clubs that wish to fall into this category have the opportunity to purchase more games. Representations from the SANFL believe that this will lead large operators like Woolworths and Coles to buy up games from smaller venues. This means less funding for the SANFL, because the smaller, grassroots clubs will earn less gambling revenue.

“We have had to cut and prune expenses in many, many areas without trying to affect our core business of football and being a representative of the community,” says Kris Grant, chief executive of Central District. “If this was to come in, we can see that we would have a further decline”.

Grant believes that the next area of the SANFL that will receive funding cuts are the development programs. These are incredibly beneficial to the local community, because they groom young people to become football players. The individuals involved in these programs obtain many benefits, including improved health and better social lives. Without development programs, many youths would lose out.

Clubs SA president Cameron Taylor supports these claims. He also believes that many smaller football clubs rely on pokie funding. Without it, they would not be able to survive – and the reforms would cause their demise.

The South Australian government has quite a lot of work to do if it wants to implement these new reforms. As far as we can tell, very few individuals are on board and they will need convincing that this is the best course of action.

Safari Vs. Beach operates like any other leaderboard promotion. Players simply wager on their favourite online pokies and they earn points for doing so. As players earn more points, they climb the leaderboard – and the top-ranking players win generous prizes.

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The top prize is a Safari or Beach holiday worth $6000. Winners can choose from a getaway to: Long Beach, California; Durban Beach, South Africa; Gold Coast, Australia; Costa Adeje, Tenerife. Second prize wins $1000 cash while third prize wins $600. The top ten players win between $100 and $300 while the top 100 players win prizes worth $35 to $75.

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In the Auckland District court, the woman’s lawyers claimed that a conviction would prevent her from pursuing a career as a social worker. The judge understood that she was currently studying in that field, so he discharged her.

Now, local authorities have discovered that the mother is not actually studying to be a social worker. Since the trial, she has not taken any steps to pursuing this career path. As such, they feel that she should be convicted. They are now appealing the decision in the High Court. She could receive the same punishment as her husband, who is now in jail. However, she may receive a lesser sentence so that she can continue to care for her children. House arrest and community service are likely options.

“It is not a situation where she was about to complete a social worker’s course that she had put time and energy into it,” says Crown Prosecutor Anna Longdill, who supports the authorities’ decision to appeal the case. “It’s that she may want to do a course sometime in the future.”

Stricter punishment in this case may discourage other parents from indulging in similar behaviour. Recent reports have found that there were nearly 100 cases of child abandonment at SkyCity last year, so it seems that the casino’s prevention methods are not working. Parents need to know that there are consequences for this type of behaviour, and a successful appeal will ensure that this is the case.

Contract Killer is a new mobile slots game based on Glu Mobile’s popular first-person shooter. The original game sees players embark on dangerous assassination mission in which they track down targets and shoot them for random. Players get pick their weapon of choice and chase down the target. They can either make a clean getaway or they could be ambushed.

Glu Mobile brings all of that excitement into the mobile gambling world with the new Contract Killer slots game. The new title features the same motifs and themes of the original game, so players will notice some familiarities.
The game was created in collaboration with Probability PLC, a UK-based mobile games developer. This is the second title to be released from this partnership, and both companies are expecting a positive response from players.

“We were pleased with the initial player response to Samurai vs. Zombies Defense Slots and continue to see a significant long-term opportunity in the mobile real-money gambling market,” said Niccolo de Masi, CEO of Glu. “Our partnership with Probability allows us to offer the highest quality mobile casino products”.

Glu’s new mobile pokies will be distributed to a wide range of mobile casino customers. Players at 888 online casino, William Hill and many other real-money gambling websites will be able to access both Contract Killer online slots and Samurai Vs. Zombies Defense online slots. Both are anticipated to be innovative games that will captivate players with all type of gambling tastes.