Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Attracting wide New Zealand media comment over the weekend was the news that
the New Zealand Green political party wants a new online gambling site shut
down because it "threatens the viability of the racing industry." Green
Party member of parliament Sue Bradford is at the heart of the row, claiming
that an online gambling site, Race-O New Zealand, 'might' be illegal because
the Gambling Act passed three years ago outlawed online gambling within New
Zealand. It also made betting on horses illegal unless bets were laid with
the TAB, she said. "Such online activities are illegal not only for the
operators but for the participants," said Bradford. "Perhaps to circumvent
these legal restrictions, Race-O is the trading name of a company registered
in Costa Rica, while its gaming and betting license has been secured within
the Kahnawake Indian nation near Montreal, Canada. "The Government should
immediately close down the site, and pursue prosecutions vigorously if laws
have been broken." The betting site, whose original investors included
leading breeder Sir Patrick Hogan and former top trainer Dave O'Sullivan, is
being investigated by the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs. Berri
Schroder, a part-owner of Melbourne Cup winner Brew, is a Race-O (NZ)
director. Race-O is registered in Costa Rica in central America and its
betting license has been secured from the autonomous Indian territory of
Kahnawake in Canada. Bradford said sites like Race-O New Zealand could
threaten the racing industry because the TAB monopoly guaranteed that
gambling profits were returned to the industry "in a reasonably accountable
manner". "Racing seems already to be in such a state of decline that it is
reduced, shamefully, to taking the proceeds of pokie money to bulk out major
stakes," she said. "It would be a pity if the advent of online gambling
sites like Race-O should even further undermine the distribution system
maintained by the TAB through the auspices of the Racing Board." It is
illegal to set up an internet betting website in New Zealand, and the
website has angered the Problem Gambling Foundation, which told the Sunday
Star-Times it was a deliberate attempt to get around the ban.