The Victorian Gambling Commission have announced that they are investigation payments totallimg $1.1m made by an Australian pokies club to the Melbourne Storm rugby league club.
Ace’s Sporting Club, owned by the pokies magnate Bruce Mathisen are alleged to have made payments to the Storm over a 7 year period that have aroused the suspicion of the Victorian Gambling Commission as well as the NRL.
According to a article titled ‘Storms secret $1m pokies link‘ published in the Sydney Morning Herald, the issue isn’t so much that sponsorship payments have been made, but rather the nature and source of the payments.
Suspicion has been aroused by the fact that the sponsorship payments to the Melbourne Storm were not specifically declared in accounts filed over the years to the Victorian Gambling Commission, despite there being an obligation to do so.
In addition to this the Melbourne Storm are not listed on the Aces Sporting Clubs ‘approved individuals or companies’ list. The list which is maintained by the Victorian Gambling Commission is meant to ensure the transparency of transactions made by gambling organisations. Whilst the Storm themselves aren’t listed, two of their former CEO’s are on the list, a fact that has aroused the suspicion of the authorities even further.
Commenting on the news, Peter Cohem, the Executive Commissioner:
“The VCGR is investigation the Aces Sporting Club and its relationship with the Melbourne Storm”
Source: Online Pokies Club
Tags: australia, Australian gambling, Melbourne storm pokies
This entry was written by Jamie on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 11:57 pm and is filed under News.
