We're a nation of brilliant rugby players. Champion yachties. World-beating stone throwers. but we wouldn't be any of that without being a nation of gamblers.

'It's like you've farted really badly in the room." An expert who's studied the impact of using gambling proceeds in communities says raising the issue's not appreciated.

In a little over nine months Xiao Lu and her former boyfriend Zhou Zhao defrauded Hamilton's SkyCity casino of more than $50,000 .

"It's heaven. It's better than sex. Then you lose, and lose big. And it's 'oh my God, what have I done'?" John tells his story about gambling addiction.

A Chinese woman involved in a gambling scam with her ex-boyfriend and a casino worker that stole more than $50,000 has avoided a jail sentence but will be deported.

Once a blip on the national sports scene, baseball has grown its player base to about 6000. And its emergence has been funded entirely with gambling money.

Alicia sobs as she recalls the moment she realised her life had to change. She was spending up to 20 hours a week at the pokies, losing between $300 and $400.

The Mt Wellington Warriors league club made a stand against pokie money. But when it couldn't raise revenue, it faced a stark reality - take the trust money or go bust.

"If Basketball NZ didn't receive TAB income I shudder to think." Basketball has become the country's betting sport of choice, with $46.8m wagered last year.

The profits and boom in visitor numbers from SkyCity's proposed convention centre have already been built into Auckland Council's accounts.

Approval for a VIP smoking area at Auckland's SkyCity casino has prompted a High Court challenge over testing methods.

First, it was stud poker. Like Texas Hold 'em but with nine cards, more face-down, fewer face-up, so the chance of killer hands was pretty high.

Pokie numbers in pubs and clubs across Auckland will drop under a new unified Super City policy.

What do racing and retail sales have in common? Both industries are suffering unfair competition from offshore websites.

The gambling mecca of Macau now handles more wagers than all US-based commercial casinos put together.

Maori Party MP Te Ururoa Flavell defended his Gambling Harm Reduction Bill in Parliament tonight.

The Government and SkyCity have signed off on their controversial deal under which the casino company will build a $402 million international convention centre.

The Auckland Council has voted not to support the $400 million national convention centre for pokies deal on the eve of the Government and SkyCity signing off the deal.

Public opinion has turned against the Government's SkyCity international convention centre deal just days before it is due to be signed off.

I am now thinking on the next step in this issue, writes Te Ururoa Flavell. "In particular taking aim at the racing industry, and their exemption from the current package of reforms."

The rise in problem gambling cannot be solely credited to poker machines, writes Tony Cooper.

The biggest pokie charity in the country is rejecting funding applications from Anglican-linked organisations because a branch of the church spoke out against gaming machines

SkyCity casino is bringing in facial recognition technology to pluck banned gamblers out of a crowd.

Matt McCarten was in an elevator with a senior gambling executive five years ago. It was a few days before John Key ousted Helen Clark's government.