Eight people have been charged after authorities allege a "network of corruption" had been discovered in the Hawke's Bay's gambling sector.
The eight were charged with a range of offences under the Gambling Act 2003 and Crimes Act 1961.
Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) investigators say there was collusion between class four gambling venue operators, corporate societies and grant recipients.
Three of the eight people charged appeared at the Napier District Court today, with one pleading not guilty and two have been remanded without plea.
They will appear in court over the coming months.
According to a spokesperson, the charges allege that "the defendants, who were in management positions at several community organisations and within the class four gambling sector, abused their positions to fraudulently obtain or misappropriate hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding and other benefits".
Five other defendants have had their matters adjourned until February.
The charges against the eight relate to the misappropriation of Class 4 (gambling) grant funds, theft of gaming machine proceeds and offering benefits to secure Class 4 (pokie) venues with improper conditions, according to the DIA.
The agency's gambling regulatory director Vicki Scott said criminal networks gave the sector "a bad name".
“Prosecutions of this kind help us ensure the integrity and fairness of the gambling system," she said.
“Criminal networks that operate in a regulated environment such as class four gambling, commit this type of offending with full knowledge of the law.
"They ultimately take away grants from compliant and honest organisations and give the gambling sector a bad name."
Investigators did not go into further detail about their findings.
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