Roy Allan Duncan, well-known drug manufacturer, is a VIP player at SkyCity casino in Auckland. Over the years, he and his wife have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars at the venue – and police have reason to doubt that their winnings were genuine.

According to police reports, Duncan used a popular method for money laundering. He would deposit money into a poker machine and cancel the transaction before wagering on the game. As a result, he would receive his money back; however, it was not his money that he would receive. Since he received a cash out ticket, his ‘winnings’ consisted of other players’ deposits – successfully laundering his own money.

Duncan disputes these claims. He states that he is simply an experienced gambler who knows how to win at pokies. Unfortunately for him, this defence is unlikely to hold up in court, as new digital technology makes it impossible to predict the outcome of modern-day pokies.

According to reports, SkyCity had been pushing for a deal with China Southern Airlines for over a year. The casino operator wanted to increase the number of high rollers that would have access to its various gambling venues by making it easier for players to enter the country. Now that Immigration New Zealand has launched its own deal with China Southern Airlines, citizens are concerned that the government is in the pocket of SkyCity.

This news comes shortly after the announcement that government has relaxed gambling laws to allow for SkyCity to install up to 500 new poker machines. In return, the casino operator would build Auckland’s new convention centre, a project which will cost $350 million. With these types of deals taking place, residents wonder if SkyCity has an unfair influence on the local government.

Both SkyCity and Immigration New Zealand have denied claims that they worked together on the new China Southern Airlines deal. However, opposition is still strong, as politicians and residents worry that the deal would welcome a potential increase in casino-related crime.

Both parents were charged with child neglect – specifically, leaving a child under the age of 14 without supervision – but only one was convicted of the crime. The mother and the father were both discharged but only the mother got away without conviction. The father of the children has been found guilty of the crime, and his sentencing will take place later this year.

The judge’s reasons why only one party was convicted has not been revealed; however, some details about the court case have been shared, which shed some light on the situation. According to reports, the mother’s lawyer claimed that she is in the process of becoming a social worker, and a conviction would jeopardize her career plans. It seems unlikely that this argument is the entire reason she escaped conviction-free, but if the mother actually does have plans to become a social worker, she will need to set her priorities straight before pursuing this career path.

The provision that sports organizations are resisting is one that will give city councillors the right to decide how pokies funds are distributed. Sports groups believe that pokies trusts should be in charge of the funds rather than city councils, and are worried that they will lose their funding as a result of this change.

Hawke’s Bay Roller Derby is just the latest group to lobby against some of the changed proposed by the Harm Reduction Bill. The group states that pokies grants currently provide valuable funding for equipment and services required by players, and the roller derby could greatly suffer is funding were to be cut.

The news comes just days after the New Zealand Rugby Union announced that the Harm Reduction Bill would drive participation fees up by 500%. The group obtains more than 20% of its funding from pokies grants, and the loss of the resource would result in negative changes for the league.

The NZRU and the Roller Derby group are just two organizations that have made submissions opposing this provision. The commerce committee will review these documents this month and present them at a hearing in November.

If you’re not already familiar with Live Dealer games, these are online casino games that are played with real dealers rather than computer software. Rather than having a random number generator determine the outcome, a dealer (broadcasted via webcam) shuffles the cards or spins the roulette wheel.

At InterCasino, there are a number of benefits for its new Live Dealer selection. Players can select which dealer they would like to play with and they can chat with them while the game is taking place. Each table has different betting levels, so players with a wide range of bankrolls can take part in this innovative gaming offering. Players should also take note that there is a wide availability of live dealers, so you will never be waiting very long for a table!

“The bill doesn’t take away the right of any sports club or local community group to do what they want to,” says MP Te Ururoa Flavell, who authored the bill.

The Harm Reduction Bill is aimed at benefitting the local community; however , sports organizations are worried that it will interfere with their finances. It simply means that sports clubs will have to be less dependent on poker machine profits, finding funding from other resources – but clubs do not seem prepared to take that step.

Blaze Poker is Microgaming’s own fast-fold poker application. Once players fold their hand at one table, they are taken to a new table and dealt a new hand. Players can take part in hundreds of hands per hour, multiplying their profits.

The application has led to a 33% growth in profits over the course of the past few months. So, it seems only natural that the operator would want to expand its reach. Mobile Blaze has yet to hit the mobile market place but Microgaming is enthusiastic about the venture.

“Microgaming is gearing up for the imminent launch of Blaze Mobile, which will offer its popular fast fold poker game variant to players, and soon-to-be introduced Mobile Bingo,” reads a statement from the company.

The buy-in for ANZPT Auckland is $2000 + $200; so, you can rest assured that there will be some very generous prizes up for grabs this time around. This is the first time that the ANZPT will be coming to the capital, so we’re anticipating a very busy event.

PokerStars has also announced that the ANZPT will be returning to Queenstown again for Snowfest. This leg of the tournament will run from July 30 – August 4, 2012, and the buy-in is $2700 + $300. Last year, the prize pool to an impressive $1.2 million, and first-place winner Sam Razavi earned a generous $300 000 prize.

Spaces are limited for these tournaments; so, if you’re interested in playing, it is best to purchase your buy-in soon. You can also take part in satellites online at PokerStars to earn a free entry into an ANZPT event of your choice.

The Travel Act prohibits the distribution of funds earned illegally via fraudulent business practices. Lederer and Bitar violated the act by transferring funds from the site’s business account to Lederer’s personal account. These funds were not profits earned from Full Tilt’s operators; rather, they were player deposits.

“The funds were used to purchase/pay for real estate, renovations, new home construction costs, furniture, mortgage payments, property taxes, personal pension plans and 401K’s, and various personal vehicles,” reads the complaint.

Last week, Lederer attempted to use a new ruling that poker is a game of skill to have his charges dropped. Unfortunately, this new revelation will only make matters worse for Lederer and his former business partner, as it seems there will be no way for either party to escape these charges.

This is an ideal time for a program of this kind to be launched in New Zealand. With the Harm Reduction Bill receiving a great deal of support, it is also important for local organizations to deal with problem gambling in other ways.

The program has been launched at Tawa College. As the program gains steam, it will expand to other schools across the country. It is important for the program to take place in schools, as it makes it mandatory for youth to take part, exposing them to a dialogue about underage gambling.

Navid Foroutan of the Problem Gambling Foundation says that the program will take an interactive approach. It is aimed at understanding how students perceive gambling, so that the program can provide an effective approach to communicating the dangers of underage gambling.