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The regulator of gambling in New Zealand announced on Friday that the funds returned by operators will be directed towards community organisations.
Under Section 106 of New Zealand’s Gambling Act 2003, a class 4 licence holder, also known as a “corporate society” by the regulator, “must apply or distribute the net proceeds from class 4 gambling only to or for an authorised purpose specified in the corporate society’s licence”.
The DIA worked directly with class 4 gambling operators (commonly known as pokies trusts), and discovered ‘widespread issues’ such as cases where money that should have been available for community grants was instead spent on society expenses, such as the purchase of additional gaming machines.
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VGW, the Australian parent company of Chumba Casino, has increased its financial support of Alabama gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville, pushing its total contributions past $100,000.
In April, Casino.org reported that VGW had contributed $30,000 to Tuberville’s 2026 gubernatorial campaign.
New financial disclosures from the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office show that VGW gave the campaign another $100,000, bringing the firm’s total contributions to $130,000. The latest check, dated Aug. 31, came from the Chumba Casino, Global Poker, and LuckyLand Casino operator.
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While the intention is to protect vulnerable households and ensure welfare is spent on essential needs, proposed measures are being complicated by legal, technical and privacy obstacles.
Harris Tsangarides, executive director of the Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission, said his department had noticed spikes in gambling activity coinciding with GMI payment dates, prompting the regulator to consider “technical solution” to cross-reference GMI beneficiary lists with casino membership records.
An issue raised by Giannis Vasiliadis, director of WBAS, was the limited access to recipients’ banking information. This limited data can hint at suspicious activity but cannot conclusively verify gambling transactions.
