Pacific broadcaster Fa'amatuainu Tino Pereira was the sole non-bureaucrat on a panel that evaluated bids in a controversial tender that axed most of the Problem Gambling Foundation's funding.

There is "no substance" to Labour MP Shane Jones' claims that Countdown squeezed thousands of dollars out of Lotto, the organisation's chief Wayne Pickup said last night.

Gamblers mistakenly believe they can always beat the odds in a game of chance because they have developed a different pattern of brain activity to non-gamblers.

Two of the six panel members who made the shock decision to stop funding the Problem Gambling Foundation had conflicts of interest, a review has found.

A gambling industry leader was among the first people knocking on the Salvation Army's door this week after news broke that the army had displaced the country's main help agency for gambling addicts.

The Problem Gambling Foundation is seeking legal advice over a possible High Court challenge to a controversial Government decision to axe funding for most of its services for gambling addicts.

Editorial: Revenge may well be a dish best served cold. It can also be best served by a third party, with no obvious fingerprints and in a way that offers plausible deniability.

The Salvation Army says it was unaware it would be taking over as the lead agency for gambling addiction services after the Ministry of Health controversially cut funding to the Problem Gambling Foundation.

The mystery millionaire who won $26 million on Powerball three weeks ago has spent up large on cars and is planning to follow the All Blacks on tour.

A suspect in a record-breaking drug probe had a gambling turnover of $14m at SkyCity Casino despite declaring an income of just $4217 over the same time period.

The number of pokies in pubs and clubs across Auckland continued to fall last year as did the amount Aucklanders lost on the machines.

A former gambling trust administrator has been sentenced to home detention after misusing more than $1.7 million in proceeds that should have gone to the community.

James Driver played a video game 16 hours a day for two years. Now he's trying to help other addicts kick the habit.

A man used chewing gum to block poker machine cash slots before returning to pinch other people's jammed winnings.

Treating gambling addicts who commit crimes would be much cheaper than jailing them, and would reduce reoffending, says a New York judge.

An Otago man has turned a $10 bet into six figures, just a week after a man from a neighbouring town did exactly the same thing.

2013 was the year Britain lost its innocence in the fixing debate. A former Premier League player was filmed by an undercover reporter claiming he could arrange for players to be sent off in exchange for a $140,400 fee.

Queenslanders are frantically checking their lottery tickets as the hunt goes on for Australia's newest multi-millionaire - who is holding on to a ticket worth A$70m.

Labour leader David Cunliffe took the attack to Prime Minister John Key as the Government backed a convention centre deal with SkyCity.

A bill paving the way for SkyCity's $402m convention centre has passed its final reading in Parliament, but Labour says they will not be bound by the 'shonky' deal.

25 years of betting on the Melbourne Cup has finally paid off for an Auckland fish shop worker who picked the first four horses over the finish line at Flemington.

Information about the harm caused by the SkyCity convention centre deal was withheld because it was considered commercially sensitive, official papers show.

A senior equities analyst has raised questions about Labour potentially scrapping SkyCity Entertainment Group's $402 million convention centre.

Australian and New Zealand expansion will transform SkyCity Entertainment Group into a very different business in five years, shareholders have been told.

Massey University ignored warnings a study analysing the benefits of pokie grants would produce flawed results that would be used by the gaming industry as a weapon in the debate over gaming reform.

A study published by the Lion Foundation which extols the benefits of funding community projects with gambling money is course work produced by a group of Massey commerce students.