Southern gamblers have pumped almost $50 million into pokies
over the past year - the equivalent of $160 for every man,
woman and child living in Otago and Southland.
Pub and club owners and operators are pushing for a change to
gambling laws, to allow them to take a profit on pokie
machines and to reduce the amount that gets paid back to the
community in grants.
A whistleblower says an Internal Affairs audit is a
"whitewash" after it failed to act on his material involving
the Otago Rugby Football Union, South Auckland bars and a
pokie trust.
The Dunedin City Council wants to delegate responsibility for
the future distribution of pokie funds to avoid a potentially
costly conflict of interest, if the Government opts to hand
the role to local authorities.
A pokies trust recently stripped of its gambling licence has
pumped more than $2 million into southern racing clubs over a
two-year period despite having no gambling venues in Otago or
Southland.
A pokies executive has slammed a claim that Otago would be
$11 million better off if a controversial Bill handing the
distribution of gaming cash to local government was
introduced.
Rugby was granted more than $141 million in pokies grants
over the past six years, raising questions over the
sustainability of the country's national game.
