logo
Kiwi creator on why he turned down huge offers to plug online gambling

Kiwi creator on why he turned down huge offers to plug online gambling

1News18 hours ago
A New Zealand content creator is speaking out about the harms of gambling after revealing he was offered more than $500,000 to promote offshore gambling websites.
Louis Davis is a Kiwi content creator with a following of over 3 million across all platforms, and has taken to his social media platforms to warn others about the risks.
Speaking with Breakfast this morning, Davis said he received the promotional offers in his email inbox.
"We get hammered with emails every day, they're pretty consistent," he said.
When asked on why he decided to turn down the offer, he said that gambling promotions are causing real harm in communities and were encouraging addictive behaviour.
ADVERTISEMENT
'We are living in an age now where you can gamble in your car, on the toilet, or at work.
The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including deadly Texas floods, Australian woman attacked by a lion, and Elon Musk's new political party. (Source: 1News)
'There used to be a time and a place for it, but now because of our phones we have access 24/7 to it.
'If they're offering me over $500,000 to ask you to gamble, imagine how much they're stealing from you.'
Data from the Department of Internal Affairs showed that in 2022/23, New Zealanders lost $2.76 billion gambling on the four regulated gambling sectors - Lotto New Zealand, TAB NZ, casinos and class 4 gambling (pokies).
Growing up in Northland, Davis said he witnessed the impacts of gambling firsthand.
"I see the harm of this in my communities, and what it takes from us." he told Breakfast.
ADVERTISEMENT
"There's a reason they give money to people that look like me. They're going after my community."
Davis said he would love to see changes around the rules of advertising, so people don't continue to be tempted by offers from gambling companies.
"People get put in this real hard position, where it's undeniable life-changing money. I almost have empathy for people who have to make that decision,"
"I'd love to see changes made to that system; I don't want it to be a decision people have to make."
DIA has been cracking down on the promotion of offshore gambling, sending cease-and-desist letters to some influencers, and monitoring other accounts.
Millie Elder-Holmers was recently fined $5000 for promoting online gambling.
Under the Gambling Act it is illegal to publish an advertisement for an offshore gambling operator.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

House Prices Hit Nine Month Low In June
House Prices Hit Nine Month Low In June

Scoop

time33 minutes ago

  • Scoop

House Prices Hit Nine Month Low In June

Press Release – Trademe In June the average asking price was $829,650, down more than $15,000 (-1.8%) on May and -1.4 per cent year-on-year. The national average asking price has fallen to its lowest since September 2024, shows Trade Me's latest Property Pulse Report. In June the average asking price was $829,650, down more than $15,000 (-1.8%) on May and -1.4 per cent year-on-year. Trade Me Property Customer Director Gavin Lloyd said Auckland prices have taken the largest hit. 'Tāmaki Makaurau has seen the largest decline in the average asking price, from both a month-on-month (-2.4%) and year-on-year perspective (-2.7%). 'If we look at the price in June, and compare it to the same time last year it shows a fall of close to $28,000. That said, the average asking price of property in Aotearoa's largest city continues to hold above the million dollar mark (at $1,005,950), $150,000 more than the Bay of Plenty, which is the next most expensive region,' said Lloyd. Deep South, good gains The average asking price for a property in Otago has grown by close to $54,000 in the year to June, a 6.7 per cent increase. There are four districts within the region driving the increase, Waitaki where prices are up 2.8 per cent year-on-year, Dunedin (+2.2%), Queenstown Lakes (+1.8%) and Wanaka (+1.3%) 'Otago is a huge and diverse region, it's laid-back, incredibly scenic and is particularly appealing for lovers of the great outdoors, a wonderful place to call home. 'With recent Census figures showing increasing Kiwi to be moving south it will be interesting to see if the growth in house prices in Otago continues its steady upward trajectory,' says Mr Lloyd. Outside of Otago, Southland has also made good gains across the year with the average asking price up 3.4 per cent or around $17,000. 'The average price in Southland in June was just over $522,000, so while it's on the up it still remains one of the most affordable regions across the motu.' Further north, both Hawkes Bay and Taranaki show strong year-on-year growth. The average asking price in Taranaki is up 5.2 per cent or close to $35,000, while Hawkes Bay prices have increased 3.8 per cent year-on-year, the equivalent of more than $27,000. Supply and demand down both fall The number of listings on Trade Me Property, which hit a decade high in March, fell nine per cent between May and June but remained four per cent up year-on-year. Demand was also down 12 per cent on the month prior but flat compared to June 2024. 'Seeing supply dip at this stage of the year isn't unexpected, but there remains plenty of choice in the market for those house hunting with several thousand more properties listed on site than the same month last year,' says Mr Lloyd. The median number of days onsite increased from 70 in May to 78 in June.

The key moments from the mushroom cook murder trial
The key moments from the mushroom cook murder trial

1News

timean hour ago

  • 1News

The key moments from the mushroom cook murder trial

The key moments from Erin Patterson's triple murder trial as a jury finds her guilty of all offences. 1. Erin Patterson gives evidence and admits foraging After weeks of prosecution evidence, she was announced as the defence's only witness in her murder trial. She took to the witness box for eight days, including several under gruelling cross-examination by crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC. She admitted beginning mushroom foraging during Victoria's first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. "They tasted good and I didn't get sick," she told the jury, about preparing and eating wild fungi for the first time. Patterson said she loved her former in-laws and they were her only living family. ADVERTISEMENT She also claimed she'd thrown up remnants on the meal after eating it as she suffered from bulimia, and admitted to lying about owning a dehydrator and foraging to police. 1News Australia correspondent Aziz Al Sa'afin speaks to Breakfast in the wake of yesterday's verdict. (Source: Breakfast) 2. Sole lunch survivor Ian Wilkinson enters witness box The only lunch guest to survive eating Patterson's poisoned beef Wellington, Ian was one of the first witnesses called during week two of the trial. Ian, Simon Patterson's uncle and pastor at Korumburra Baptist Church, locked eyes with the woman who tried to kill him as he sat in the witness box and gave emotional evidence about losing his wife Heather. He said Patterson had served himself, his wife Heather, and Don and Gail Patterson on grey dinner plates which were different to her own plate. Ian laughed as he recalled banter at the dinner table over how Don had eaten his portion and half of his wife Gail's. ADVERTISEMENT 3. Estranged husband Simon Patterson called as witness Simon was the first witness called by prosecutors and he discussed their up and down relationship in the years leading up to their permanent separation in 2015. He gave evidence for three days and explained that he did not attend the fatal lunch, although he was invited, because he felt "too uncomfortable". Simon also became emotional as he recalled seeing his father and mother dying in their hospital beds. "Dad was substantially worse than mum, he was really struggling ... He wasn't right inside. He was feeling pain," he said, between tears. The morning's headlines in 90 seconds, including what the jury saw at the mushroom murder trial, where house prices are climbing, and why YouTube's biggest star has business plans in NZ. (Source: 1News) 4. Medical experts explain how her lunch guests became ill, but Patterson did not ADVERTISEMENT Several doctors, nurses and toxicologists detailed how the four lunch guests' conditions deteriorated over several days after going to hospital with diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pain and they tried to save their lives. Initially, doctors and victims had assumed they all had gastro, but soon it became clear they had consumed death cap mushrooms. Patterson, on the other hand, took herself to hospital two days after the meal and quickly discharged herself. She returned and then was taken to a Melbourne hospital but was found to not have been poisoned. 5. Computer devices reveal death cap mushroom searches Searches of computers, tablets and mobile phones seized from Patterson's home revealed she had navigated to science website iNaturalist in May 2022 and looked at death cap mushroom sighting post for Moorabbin, in Melbourne. 6. Patterson's angry messages over child support ADVERTISEMENT A child support issue between Simon and Erin started to involve his parents, Don and Gail, towards the end of 2022 - about six months before the toxic meal. Messages sent by Patterson to her Facebook friends revealed she called Simon a "deadbeat" and said she wanted nothing to do with her parents-in-law. "This family, I swear to f*****g god," another message said. Prosecutors said this showed how her relationship with the Patterson family had begun deteriorating. 7. Cell phone tower pings after online death cap sightings Patterson's phone had pinged at cell towers in the Gippsland towns of Outtrim and Loch after posts on iNaturalist about death cap mushroom sightings in those areas. Her defence argued this evidence was unreliable, but prosecutors said it showed she had gone to these areas to pick the deadly fungi. 8. Patterson's missing mobile phone Several mobile phones were seized from Patterson's home except one, Phone A, and prosecutors told the jury they had never recovered this phone. Its sim card was swapped during a police search of her Leongatha home on August 5, 2023. Another phone, known during the trial as Phone B, had been factory reset on the day police were at her home and again while sitting in a locker at Victoria police's homicide HQ.

The cost of being: A tourism operator paying back their Covid-19 business loan
The cost of being: A tourism operator paying back their Covid-19 business loan

The Spinoff

timean hour ago

  • The Spinoff

The cost of being: A tourism operator paying back their Covid-19 business loan

As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a small-town tourist accommodation provider talks us through their finances. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 46. Ethnicity: NZ Pākehā/European. Role: Self-employed in tourism (own/host short-term accommodation). Husband works in marketing. We parent three kids and I volunteer 4-5 hours per week. Salary/income/assets: $110,000 p/a after tax (can vary depending on occupancy of the rental). $10,000 in savings (earmarked for end-of-year taxes and bills during the tourist off-season). Approximately $60,000 in KiwiSaver. My living location is: Small town. Rent/mortgage per week: Slowly but steadily paying off a mortgage of $474,000 at $850 per week. Student loan or other debt payments per week: $150 per week for Covid-19 Small Business Cashflow Scheme Loan. Typical weekly food costs Groceries: $500–$600 for two adults, three kids plus pet food for two dogs. Eating out: Rarely, special occasions only or if we go to the city. Probably works out to $20 per week. Takeaways: Never (we live 17km from a small town with limited takeaway options). Workday lunches: None, I work from home. Cafe coffees/snacks: I get a chai latte every other week, so that works out to $3.50 per week. Other food costs: None. I've got the space for a vege garden but our climate is tough on plants and honestly, it's cheaper/easier just to buy in season. My husband does grow his own herbs. Savings: We can easily save a few hundred a week and we'd love to go on holiday but the savings will be going to our end-of-year tax bill and to help with bills over the tourist off-season (ie, our rental doesn't command the higher nightly rate as peak season). I worry about money: Sometimes. Three words to describe my financial situation: Privileged, comfortable, relaxed. My biggest edible indulgence would be: Vegan cheese – currently $9.50 per 250g so we buy it once a week and make it last! In a typical week my alcohol expenditure would be: Zero for me as I quit drinking for health reasons (ie to mitigate increased risk of cancer). Husband still enjoys a good wine so $40 per week for him. In a typical week my transport expenditure would be: Around $50. I estimate in the past year the ballpark amount I spent on my personal clothing (including sleepwear and underwear) was: Around $800. My most expensive clothing in the past year was: $223 for Salomon hiking boots. My last pair of shoes cost: See above – but they were on special, down from $319! My grooming/beauty expenditure in a year is about: NZ-made vegan make-up, various 'pro-ageing' lotions and potions, hair cut/dye every few months. Annual cost would be around $750. My exercise expenditure in a year is about: Zero. I walk with my dogs in the hills behind our property and push-ups/sit-ups/planks are free! My last Friday night cost: Zero. Just the usual dinner then a movie at home. Most regrettable purchase in the last 12 months was: A $650 refurbished iPhone that had problems from the outset. I've now bought a new iPhone for $1,200. That stung. Most indulgent purchase (that I don't regret) in the last 12 months was: Books (around $200 total). One area where I'm a bit of a tightwad is: Accommodation, which is funny because while I run boutique accommodation ($350 to $500 per night depending on the time of year) I wouldn't stay in a place like that myself! Five words to describe my financial personality would be: Got lucky but worked hard. I grew up in a house where money was: Tight. We were pretty broke off and on growing up but I didn't really notice because I had everything I needed: loving parents, cosy home, good healthy food. It was way harder on my parents. The last time my Eftpos card was declined was: In the last month because I forgot to transfer enough into my everyday account. In five years, in financial terms, I see myself: Wealthier with our mortgage nearly paid off and money for international holidays with the family. I would love to have more money for: At least one international holiday with the kids before they leave home! Describe your financial low: 2011 to 2017 when we were on one income while I was at home with the kids. That was tough but not as tough as people are doing it now. We were lucky to have excellent parental support that got us through.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store