Czech games company apologises for Maori pokie

Endorphina Ltd's pokie-style gam included images of tane and wahine Maori, waka, pounamu, stylised bone carvings and a rendition of the haka Ka Mate.

Hapai Te Hauora Maori public health manager Anthony Hawke says a letter was sent to the company outlining concerns about cultural appropriation and gambling harm.

It asked for apologies to Ngati Toa for use of the haka and Ngai Tahu for the pounamu imagery, as well as calling for policies to ensure the protection of the integrity of all indigenous cultures it might seek to represent in its future products.

He says Endorphina apologised and took down the game.

"We're not really seeing this as a win, all we've done is done the right thing to help them to do the right thing and we endorse Endorphina for taking this international stance on indigenous rights and we look forward to continuing on that conversation and how it can help them in the future".

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