In New Zealand, a scandal is brewing in the poker machine market. The Department of Internal Affairs is currently investigating several racing clubs, pokie trusts and racing officials over allegations of fraud. According to reports, up to $30 million was fraudulently awarded to various pokie clubs across the country.

New Zealand Community Trust, Infinity Trust and Bluegrass Trust are at the centre of the scandal, as these organizations are believed to have worked with racing trainer Mike O'Brien to manipulate pokie grants. This is not the first time the Bluegrass Trust has been implicated in a scandal. Last year, the trust had its pokie license suspended, after it was revealed that the group was providing grants to organizations in return for favours.

The Infinity Trust also had its license suspended for providing grant money to organizations that were not eligible for it. "The Department of Internal Affairs has responsibility to ensure the integrity of the grants system in pokie machine gambling,” says Debbie Despard, director of the Gambling Compliance Department. "The wider community is disadvantaged if one group can gain preferential access to grant funding from gambling proceeds”.

The investigation is extensive. There are at least 50 staff members at Internal Affairs and the Serious Fraud Office working on the case. This week, they issued more than 10 search warrants, requesting access to the personal property and files of individuals and organizations that have been implicated in the scandal.

O’Brien’s home and his hotel room are two locations that will be searched, as Internal Affairs attempts to determine exactly what type of relationship he had with the named pokie trusts. His father, Patrick O’Brien will also be investigated, as well as many pokie trust employees. This case highlights the need for stricter rules and regulations regarding pokie trusts.

Poker machine profits are meant to benefit organizations that truly need the funding and, when groups abuse these grants, community members are put at a grave disadvantage.

About the Author

George Anderson
Author George, has over 25+ years’ experience in the Pokies and Casinos industry throughout Australia and New Zealand. Loves to research new Pokies games on the block and follows announcements from top industry providers about their upcoming releases. As soon as a new interesting pokie game appears on his radar, George is there to check it out and give you the scoop before anyone else and tell you about all casino sites where can play the latest game. Before this gig, George worked as Pokie game tester, making him an ideal candidate for this genre of work. He is also an animal lover and a proud owner of three dogs.