Look, I’m not your typical casino “expert” who’s gonna promise you the perfect slot strategy or some foolproof guide to “beat the system.” My name’s Mark Penwick. I live down in Dunedin, drink far too much black coffee, and spend my days picking apart the wild, half-broken machine that is New Zealand’s gambling industry.
I write. I dig. I call bulls**t where I see it.
And no, I don’t care much for sugarcoating.
How it all started (spoiler: dumb luck and bad timing)
Back in 2008, I was just another slightly lost student at Victoria University in Wellington. Political Science major. Thought I’d end up in journalism or maybe some halfway noble corner of public policy. Instead, I got sucked into the weird, murky world of gambling regulation. One lecture on the politics of moral legislation and boom — rabbit hole opened. I dove in.
University was a blur of cheap wine, endless debates, and trying not to get crushed under student debt. But it gave me what I needed: a sharp eye for systems that look clean on the outside and rot on the inside.
Civil servant, my ass
So yeah, I worked in the public sector. Between 2012 and 2015, I held a role inside the government’s gambling regulation arm. I won’t say exactly where — let’s not tempt fate. But I’ll tell you this: it was like watching clowns juggle flaming spreadsheets. Everyone pretending to be in control, but deep down, most of them were just trying not to get sued.
I sat through meetings where grown adults argued over the font size on a problem gambling poster. I read regulatory drafts that used 5,000 words to say absolutely nothing. Somewhere in that mess, I realized: if I ever wanted to speak honestly, I’d have to get the hell out.
Went rogue. Never looked back
Since 2016, I’ve been writing on my own terms. No filters, no PR fluff. My early pieces for NZ Gambling Review hit nerves, which I took as a good sign. Later came CasinoPolitics Journal, where I still publish deep dives into online betting, blockchain weirdness, and the legislative circus around all of it.
What I do now isn’t just journalism — it’s obsession. I fact-check casino license numbers. I read smart contracts like bedtime stories. I don’t just analyze trends; I poke them with a stick until something twitches.
Gambling history ain’t dusty — it’s bloody alive
You want to understand how we got here? You gotta dig into the past. Kiwi gambling isn’t just pubs with pokies. It’s culture. It’s the way rural towns turned bingo nights into sacred rituals. It’s state lotteries dressed up as “community support” that somehow funded everything but the community.
I read dusty reports no one else touches. Interview ex-operators who’ve seen it all. I collect the good, the bad, and the quietly corrupt. Because gambling history isn’t about nostalgia. It’s about pattern recognition. And this industry? It repeats itself with frightening accuracy.
Let’s talk crypto. And no, I don’t mean those wannabe NFTs
Ah yes, the shiny future. Crypto casinos. Blockchain everything.
Sounds like freedom, right? Until your so-called “decentralized roulette” disappears overnight, taking your Ether and your dignity with it.
I was on the crypto beat before it was trendy. Tested platforms when the only users were code nerds and paranoid libertarians. I’ve seen the good ones — rare as hell — and the flat-out scams in flashy skins. I read whitepapers like horror novels. Not for fun. For survival.
Crypto in gambling? It’s fire. In the right hands — it lights the way. In the wrong ones — it’ll burn your f***ing house down. I just try to help people tell the difference between a matchstick and a Molotov.
My formula? One fact + two middle fingers = the truth
Here’s the thing: I’m not a cheerleader. I’m not trying to sell you dreams. I’ve spent over a decade in and around this industry, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that most casinos will screw you if you let them.
I don’t play much myself. Never have.
But I know the game better than most who do.
I can sniff out fake licenses faster than you can spell Curaçao.
And I’m not afraid to say when a site’s full of s**t, even if it’s wrapped in five layers of “trusted” logos.
So, who am I?
✔️ 10+ years of gambling industry dirt under my nails
✔️ Political Science grad with a grudge and a spreadsheet addiction
✔️ Published in NZ Gambling Review and CasinoPolitics
✔️ Blockchain bloodhound, regulation junkie, casino historian
✔️ Loud, blunt, probably annoying — but never boring
The truth?
I don’t gamble.
But I do watch gamblers.
And trust me — that’s where the real stories are.
Catch me on Gulf Harbour Country Club before they decide I’m too loud to keep around.