For those of you who are skeptical that online casino gambling can yield a nice payout, just talk to Rawiri Pou who recently won more than NZ $10 million playing an online progressive jackpot game. His initial stake was about $250, which led to a $1500 win that ended up powering his game play right through to the big jackpot win.
Pou’s current occupation has him working at Kentucky Fried Chicken in Matama, though nobody really expects that he will continue on with that job for any length of time. At only 27 years old and millions of dollars at his disposal, his options have widened to say the least.
Pou, who expressed gratitude over the win and a desire to use it to help his family, won the jackpot playing Mega Moola, a popular slots game powered by Microgaming. The game has paid out nearly 560 million euros in winnings, including a life changing $20 million jackpot won by an ex-soldier from Great Britain.
Pou was congratulated by the Head of Casino executive John Quinn who stated that being able to deliver these kinds of jackpot wins to players is a highlight of his job. Enjoying online betting at legally licensed offshore internet casinos is not illegal in New Zealand, but there are those who would like to find a way to pull back a little bit on the growing momentum of offshore online gambling among Kiwis. This latest multi-million dollar win is likely to spark more conversation about the controversial topic.
Individuals who are a part of the anti-online gambling movement cite problem gambling as their biggest concern. However, the most reputable legal online gambling sites in New Zealand all take problem gambling very seriously and have integrated resource for players who are struggling with these issues. Some sites also support self imposed limits on player accounts for those players who are dealing with their self control. It is in their best effort to protect their players from potentially harmful effects of gambling for the sake of the industry as a whole. If these operators were seen exploiting struggling players, it would mark the end of the industry as we know it.
Another perk New Zealand players have when playing casino games online is that they don’t have to pay any taxes on their winnings. This includes Pou and his huge win. As of now, there really isn’t a downside for NZ players seeking legally sanctioned online casino gambling.