- Nevada regulators accuse Ainsworth boss of arrogance, deception.
- CEO’s conduct, secrecy, and evasive answers spark outrage.
- Resignation follows harsh rebuke from gaming board members.
Harald Neumann resigned Monday as the CEO of Australian gaming machine giant Ainsworth Game Technology after a bruising inquisition at the hands of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The board ultimately found him unfit to hold a gaming license in the state.
During a 90-minute grilling, the executive was accused of being “hostile,” belligerent,” “evasive” and “arrogant” with NGCB investigators and of refusing their request to hand over his phone for four months. When he finally did, some data had been wiped, according to the board.
Corruption Probe
Neumann also failed to disclose on his application that he was under investigation in his native Austria for corruption stemming from his stint as chairman of Austrian gaming giant Novomatic AG, which is Ainsworth’s biggest shareholder.
Nor did he mention in his application several bank accounts, a house in Greece, a rental property in LA for his daughter, and monthly payments and a credit card to a “girlfriend” in Berlin.
The NGCB also accused himself of lying on a US visa application by describing himself as a “journalist.”
Your whole attitude stinks,” said board member George Assad, a retired judge. “I don’t see remorse. I don’t see acceptance of responsibility. I don’t see acknowledgement of guilt … I see arrogance. That’s what I see.”
Neumann’s license application has been pending since he became CEO of Ainsworth in 2021. The NGCB considers applicants’ character, honesty, and integrity during the process. At the end of Friday’s hearing, board members urged Neumann to withdraw his application.
Nevada’s licensing process is the “gold standard” for gaming integrity worldwide, and being denied or withdrawing an application there can severely restrict a gaming executive’s career globally.
Board member Chandeni Sendall ultimately accused Neumann a “lack of emotional intelligence.”
“And for you to be in the position that you’re in as CEO, it’s kind of mind-boggling – honestly – to me that you can function at such a high-level and not have these basic leadership skills and communications skills, and that you’re not … self-aware that you’re coming off as argumentative, arrogant, evasive to questions asked, difficult.”
In a filing to the ASX Monday, Ainsworth said Neuman would leave his role with immediate effect and “acknowledged his contribution” during his tenure. He will be replaced by current COO Ryan Comstock.
Novomatic Scandal
In May 2019, Heinz-Christian Strache, Austria’s Far Right vice chancellor, was forced to resign after he was caught on video tape offering state contracts for cash to a woman posing as a Russian Oligarch’s niece.
In the video, Strache also discusses how companies can make illegal political donations by using non-profit organizations to conceal payments from auditors. Strache mentions Novomatic and several other companies who funded his anti-immigration Freedom Party in this way. Novomatic denies it did so.
In March 2019, Freedom Party member and Strache crony Peter Sidlo was appointed CFO of Casinos Austria, then owned by Novomatic, despite having no executive or gaming industry experience.
Whistleblowers alleged that the company backed Sidlo’s election to the board as part of a secret quid-pro-quo deal that would grease the skids on its ambition to build a casino in Vienna.
Novomatic has denied being involved in corruption.
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