Online gambling is strictly regulated in New Zealand, and, with the exception of the state-owned lotteries and TAB, is illegal through New Zealand-based companies. And once you start to spend, they’re incredibly eager to keep you playing – even if, as I found out, you tell them again and again that you are in the grips of a serious gambling addiction. Instead you’d likely find your way to a website with precisely the same colour palette and design, only this one operating purely as a pay-to-play, real-stakes gambling den. But if you were instead to type Jackpot City into Google, or any other search engine, that site is nowhere to be seen. If you were to rush to your notepad, scribble down that URL in full, then type it into your browser, you’d end up in a free-to-play, no-risk virtual casino. Jackpot City – a whole world of casino games.” “Play for free at, and get treated as a a VIP, 24/7. “Discover a world of incredible casino games, with over 300 high quality online slot games, including the world renowned progressive jackpot slot Mega Moolah,” it continues, as casino chips and cash run across the screen. “At, you can do amazing things with just one casino chip,” goes the booming American voiceover. The television is set to Three – it’s James Cameron’s Avatar, say – when an ad appears. And according to the Department of Internal Affairs, it’s all totally legal. Headquartered in a tax haven, JackpotCity is getting around legal restrictions to advertise on television with what critics call a ‘Trojan horse’ – then using aggressive sales tactics to keep vulnerable gamblers hooked.

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