DashTickets is the beacon of gambling regulation change that the NZ government should follow

After our conversation with Mark Dash, the owner of DashTickets, and Edward Howarth, the lead writer, we are certain that this online gambling magazine means business and is firmly at the forefront of player protection in New Zealand. It is, de facto, doing the work of the regulatory body while the politicians are preoccupied with their attempt to tax gambling.

We have interviewed Mark Dash to give you a first hand experience, so he can tell you exactly what he does with his website and why it matters. Edward Howarth will answer a few questions too.

Mark, how do we know which casinos are good and which are not?

The age-old question - which casinos will pay you your winnings and which will scam you out of your hard-earned money - is usually settled with licences. A lot of the countries worldwide have their own regulatory bodies that issue licences and can therefore revoke them in case of poor business practices. The United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) is the best-known regulatory body and a rare example of regulation done right. The Netherlands is also doing good things.

What makes UKGC that good?

They are focused firmly on player protection, not taxation, although money from yearly licences, fines and taxes is piling up. UKGC is fixated on protecting the player from himself, and the onus is always on the casino. For example, a casino will get fined or might even lose its UK licence if it accepts a known problem gambler. It is up to the casino to detect problem gambling behaviour.

What happens when there's no regulatory body?

If you're not in the UK or The Netherlands, basically, you're on your own. Might as well be throwing your money in a wishing well. Of course you can technically play at UKGC- or KSA-licenced casinos, and hope that their forcibly honest business practices will spill over onto you as well, but that's not the question.

In unregulated markets, such as New Zealand, where every casino can simply waltz in and start taking players' deposits, we have no one to rely on but ourselves. Our own product DashTickets, that is.

Aren't there tons of websites about gambling in New Zealand?

Yes. And don't get me wrong here, I'm not bashing the competition, but most of them are simply renting out advertising space. Whoever pays most money gets a top position and a positive review. It doesn't matter one bit if it's a rogue casino that withholds winnings to Kiwi players.

It's easier to do business this way. Get paid for bringing the players, have no responsibility, hope for the best. It's always easiest to not have a spine.

How do casinos react when you give them a bad review?

They whine for a bit like a toddler who you said no to, and then they stop.

Do you change the review? Have you ever?

No. If my reviewers say a casino is bad, that's exactly what the Kiwi players will read on DashTickets. I do not and will not intervene. The casino might look like a very good potential partner to me, but if Edward reviewed it and if he says the casino doesn't pay the players, well, it would be irresponsible to not tell the public.

You said 'partner'. You partner with the casinos?

Not a partner in the traditional sense of the word. Think of us as honest reviewers that review a product, and then get commission from the sales. However, the key thing here is, we don't make a product look good just to get more sales. That's the absolute key part about us and the reason why we're better than other similar websites.

Does it affect your bottom line?

Perhaps paradoxically, no, it doesn't. The players trust us more than they trust the average website, they know we're for real and they know the casino is good if we say it is. They can't all be great, right? We have a full spectrum of verdicts on casinos, from great to awful. It's up to the Kiwi player to read our reviews and decide for himself.

Edward, what is your role here in this dance between casinos and the players?

I'm a mystery shopper who deposits real money, claims the bonuses, plays the games, passes the sometimes tedious player verification procedure, talks to customer support that is often dumb, and argues with the casino if they refuse payment or if it's taking too long.

Then I simply report back about how I felt at some casino and how I was treated. Simple as.

It sure sounds simple when you say it like that. What do you focus on the most?

The unwritten rule of the games of chance is that the house must pay you if you get lucky and win. I'm searching for casinos that do just that. Pay quickly, without making a fuss about it. But there are so many that don't. They will find all sorts of excuses to withhold payment, to confiscate winnings, to lock player accounts. And then you got some casinos that purposely make you submit impossible documents - such as a certificate of mental sanity - in order to get verified as a player so you can receive your withdrawal. These are the worst.

In short, my job is to tell the Kiwi players in which of these brackets some casino falls into. I ignore the hype and the popularity, I am searching for an answer to a very simple question: will this casino pay you your winnings?

Mark, isn't Edward doing the job of a regulatory body?

Yes, he is! If New Zealand will ever have a proper regulatory body, its prime concern should be the payments. It's gambling, it's all about the money. There should be a proper complaint procedure, there should be a way to bring a casino to court if it doesn't pay, or if it gets closed and therefore takes all the deposits with it. We need that.

Have any politicians consulted you?

No, they haven't yet. I am open for consultation though, I will share my insight to anyone who's willing to listen. I’m not difficult to talk to, my prime concern is the wellbeing of the player.