Two years ago, the pokie trust Bluegrass Holdings Limited was reprimanded for allegedly misappropriating poker machine funds. Today, the group’s license has been cancelled for not only mishandling the funds but also having received its license illegally in the first place. Earlier this month, the Gambling Commission published a report on the issue, stating that the Secretary for Internal Affairs cancelled Bluegrass Holdings’ license.
It outlined the group’s deceit when applying for a license and when it provided pokie funds to unqualified parties. On several occasions, the pokie trust provided false information to the Department of Internal Affairs. In 2013, it was discovered that Bluegrass had provided grants that were not legitimately sourced.
That is to say, groups and individuals who were not permitted by the government to receive grants were given money from Bluegrass. Another issue is that the trust provided false information when applying for its license, as Bluegrass’s ultimate source came from three racing clubs but the group did not reveal this information.
According to the DIA, the license would not have been granted in the first place had this information had been disclosed at the time of the application. “Bluegrass’s deliberate and repeated efforts to deceive Internal Affairs were intolerable,” says Raj Krishnan, Acting Director of Gambling Compliance at Internal Affairs. “We put a lot of effort into this case as we believe ensuring the integrity of the gambling sector is of great importance.
Gaming machine societies exist to distribute funds for the community. Millions of dollars are involved and the utmost integrity is required”. This case highlights the need for stricter regulations in the gambling market in New Zealand. The DIA is takin great care to ensure that pokie trusts only provide funding to groups that actually deserve it.
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