{"id":777037093,"date":"2026-01-23T07:53:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T10:53:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/?p=777037093"},"modified":"2026-04-21T15:04:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T18:04:42","slug":"guilty-plea-entered-in-trial-over-new-zealands-largest-illegal-online-lottery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/guilty-plea-entered-in-trial-over-new-zealands-largest-illegal-online-lottery","title":{"rendered":"Guilty plea entered in trial over New Zealand’s largest illegal online lottery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The case is the first successful prosecution involving an illegal online lottery in New Zealand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

New Zealand.- A Christchurch-based company and its director have pleaded guilty in the Christchurch District Court to running New Zealand\u2019s largest illegal online lottery. Waiariki McIlroy-Jones, owner and director of Jonez LRC Ltd, admitted to conducting illegal gambling and making a pecuniary gain from it under the Gambling Act 2003<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The operation allegedly generated more than NZ$11m (US$6.9m)<\/strong> in revenue in just over a year. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) said lotteries of this scale with prizes above NZ$5,000 (US$3,140) must be conducted through authorised not-for-profit societies with Class 3 licences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An investigation that included searches across Christchurch and North Canterbury found that participants purchased entries online for chances to win high-value cars, boats, caravans, cash and a freehold house estimated at around NZ$900,000 (US$565,000)<\/strong> at the time authorities intervened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DIA\u2019s Director of Gambling, Vicki Scott, described the scheme as the largest illegal lottery identified in New Zealand to date and that the prosecution sends a clear message about enforcement. \u201cMr McIlroy-Jones sought to pass off his online lottery as a sales promotion scheme entirely for personal gain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Court records show more than 287,000 entries<\/strong> were purchased by 69,500 customers<\/strong> over roughly 12 months, with the lottery\u2019s revenue continuing to grow even as the DIA prepared its case. Money and assets linked to operation are subject to a High Court restraining order. Police will seek forfeiture under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act 2009<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case is the first successful prosecution in New Zealand involving an illegal online lottery. McIlroy-Jones and Jonez LRC are scheduled to return to court for sentencing on May 29<\/strong><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n\t\t\tSee also:<\/span><\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tSee also:<\/span> Regulator investigates after unlicensed gambling sites use Australian Open to promote offerings<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The case is the first successful prosecution involving an illegal online lottery in New Zealand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":777026996,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":false,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Jonez LRC Ltd and its director, Waiariki McIlroy-Jones, have pleaded guilty to operating New Zealand's largest illegal online lottery, generating over NZ$11m in revenue without the requisite Class 3 licensing. This marks the first successful prosecution of an illegal online lottery in the jurisdiction, underscoring the Department of Internal Affairs' commitment to regulatory enforcement. The case highlights the critical importance of adherence to the Gambling Act 2003 and robust governance frameworks for all gaming verticals.","focusai_entities":"Waiariki McIlroy-Jones, Jonez LRC Ltd, Department of Internal Affairs, Christchurch District Court, High Court, Police","focusai_location":"New Zealand, Christchurch, North Canterbury","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (1.0), operator_casino (0.85), payments_fraud_aml (0.8), investor_analyst (0.85), supplier_vendor (0.7), journalist_researcher (0.95)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"Regulatory Framework Impact","query":"What specific enhancements to New Zealand's Gambling Act 2003 or its enforcement mechanisms might be considered following this precedent-setting prosecution to deter future illegal online lottery operations?"},{"label":"Illicit Market Mitigation","query":"How will the Department of Internal Affairs leverage intelligence from this case to identify and mitigate other unauthorized gaming verticals, thereby protecting the GGR of licensed operators?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[16336,439],"tags":[25073,338],"class_list":["post-777037093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australasia-news","category-legal-news","tag-illegal-lottery","tag-new-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/680"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777037093"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777037115,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777037093\/revisions\/777037115"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777026996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777037093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777037093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777037093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}