DIA —poor job as gambling regulator

LAUGHABLE
The costs of regulation outweigh revenue from fees by $9 million a year.

### NZ Herald Online 5:00 AM Monday Mar 9, 2015
Breaches by pokie operators spark fee increase
By Nicholas Jones
Half of all inspections of pubs and clubs with pokie machines identify breaches or non-compliance with the law. Fees paid by pokie operators are to be increased as levels of fraud and other breaches challenge the Government’s ability to police the sector. Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne is overseeing consultation on proposals that will increase fees paid by clubs and pubs with gambling machines by 54 per cent.

OPERATION CHESTNUT NEAR COMPLETION
DIA, SFO and the Organised Financial Crime Agency NZ scrutinised $30 million in gaming grants made by trusts including Bluegrass. Bluegrass’ licence was cancelled after the DIA ruled its start-up funding was sourced from three racing clubs, rather than from South Canterbury Finance, as claimed.

The past three years have seen an increase in complex investigations into fraud and illegal activity at clubs and societies with pokies. That, and the declining number of pokie machines, has put severe financial pressure on the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). Gambling enforcement is funded through fees paid by gambling operators.
Read more

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Related Posts and Coomments:
2.2.15 Operation Chestnut: DIA, SFO fluffing round the edges #TTCF #ORFU
11.1.15 Southern complainants: IPCA won’t ensure upfront investigation…
14.12.14 DIA regulates what? Not white collar crime, not with govt looking on!
5.8.14 Gambling Commission shuts down racing’s Bluegrass pokie trust
3.2.14 DIA signed up Intralot amid concerns about bribery and corruption
31.12.13 Martin Legge: Operation Chestnut [DIA’s PR exercise]
30.12.13 DIA insights: Pokie rorts, money-go-rounds, names
11.10.13 New Zealand: Pokie trusts same everywhere #pokierorts
10.10.13 Whistleblowers’ message heard ??! #OtagoRacingClub #pokierorts
1.8.13 Politicians keeping DIA/SFO quiet on ORFU and TTCF #pokierorts
31.3.13 DIA and Office of the Auditor General stuff up bigtime #pokierorts
21.2.13 DIA, SFO investigation #pokierorts
11.11.12 Department of Internal Affairs #pokierorts #coverup #TTCF
25.7.12 Martin Legge backgrounds TTCF (pokie trust) and Portage and Waitakere Licensing Trusts #DIA

█ For more, enter the terms *pokies* or *pokie rorts* in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

Corruption in NZ Sport: Where has John Key PM been hiding ???

● The Trusts Charitable Foundation (TTCF Inc) ● The Trusts Community Foundation Ltd (TTCF Ltd) ● Otago Rugby Football Union (ORFU) ● Professional Rugby ● Centre of Excellence for Amateur Sport ● Harness Racing ● Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) ● Gambling Commission ● Pokies ● Rorts ● Organised Crime ● Serious Fraud ● Political Interference

All-time classic lines from Dear John, Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism:

### NZ Herald Online 3:21 PM Thursday Dec 5, 2013
Allegations are ‘very, very serious’ – Key
By Dylan Cleaver
Prime Minister John Key said it would be “very, very serious” if match fixing allegations against three former New Zealand cricketers were proved true. “New Zealand is a country that sees itself as a very above-board, honest place both to do business and to play sport so it would be deeply concerning if this was factually correct.”
“New Zealanders expect sport to be played fairly and they expect sports men and women to perform – in a way which upholds the ethics of their sport and not to be doing it to make money in an underhand way.”
“It would be a very, very serious issue indeed if it is proved to be correct.”
NZH Link

Fairfax go further through Stuff, with McCully (Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Sport and Recreation) doing a great line in used car sales:

### stuff.co.nz Last updated 15:06 05/12/2013
NZC won’t name trio in corruption investigation
By Matt Richens, Stacey Kirk and Fairfax Media
. . . CORRUPTION REPORT
The news comes within a week of the Government releasing a long-awaited report into corruption in New Zealand sport in which it asserted there was little for Kiwi sports fans to be concerned about. Sports Minister Murray McCully revealed few details of the nine-month investigation which was prompted by the scandal in Australia around doping and betting in sport. But McCully promised New Zealand would ramp up its fight against corruption in sport by implementing greater information-sharing among government and sporting bodies to stamp out potential match-fixing, doping and illegal activity. He added that a national match-fixing policy would also be established in 2014.
“The report found no evidence of widespread drug use or organised crime in New Zealand sport,” McCully said. “But it would be naive to think New Zealand is insulated from these problems. This is why we are taking pre-emptive steps to safeguard our athletes and clean sporting reputation.”
The report was instigated after the Australia Crime Commission earlier this year linked organised crime and banned substances to several Australian sporting codes including rugby league and Australian Rules football. But Sport New Zealand (SNZ) concluded there was little need for the Government, sporting or law-enforcement agencies to conduct a similar investigation in New Zealand.
Stuff Link

FACTSHEETS
● Organised Crime and Drugs in Sport New Zealand assessment and report
● New Zealand Policy on Sports Match-Fixing and Related Corruption

Note the assessment and report DO NOT extend to corruption, fraud and organised crime exercised in other ‘ways’ by New Zealand sporting entities to showcase, develop, and finance their activities in the bid to remain ‘solvent’
[by any means, it seems].

█ Enter the term *pokies* in the search box at right to find related posts and comments related to professional rugby, corruption, fraud, whistleblowing, and government departmental/political connections.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

NZRU, ORFU blasphemies etc

● The Trusts Charitable Foundation (TTCF Inc) ● The Trusts Community Foundation Ltd (TTCF Ltd) ● Otago Rugby Football Union (ORFU) ● Professional Rugby ● Centre of Excellence for Amateur Sport ● Harness Racing ● Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) ● Gambling Commission ● Pokies ● Rorts ● Organised Crime ● Serious Fraud ● Political Interference

### ODT Online Tue, 15 Oct 2013
ORFU report to stay confidential
By Hamish McNeilly
A confidential report following the financial collapse of the Otago Rugby Football Union is likely to remain confidential.
The Dunedin City Council agreed to write off a debt of more than $400,000 and Dunedin Venues Management Ltd a debt of $80,000 to help the union avoid liquidation in March last year.
The New Zealand Rugby Union, which lent the cash-strapped union $500,000, commissioned a report by Cascade Consulting to look at the union’s involvement with pokie grants.
The report was later supplied to the Department of Internal Affairs, which declined to release the documents on the grounds it ”would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information”.

”The department does not consider the withholding of the report on ORFU provided by NZRU would diminish public confidence in the department as a responsible regulator of the gambling sector and does not consider that these reasons for withholding the information are outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make the information available.” –DIA

The Otago Daily Times lodged a complaint with the office of the Ombudsman on July 25, 2012, asking for the release of the information.
Chief Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem, in a provisional opinion released this week, said the department was entitled to withhold the information.
Read more

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For more information at this site, enter terms such as *dia*, *sfo*, *oag*, *orfu*, *martin legge*, *ttcf*, *russell garbutt*, *pokies* or *pokierorts” in the search box at right.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr