Ainsworth’s former chief executive faces Austrian bribery charges

The former chief executive of a major Australian pokies manufacturer has been charged with bribery by Austrian public prosecutor after a lengthy investigation into his time leading family-owned gaming firm Novomatic.

The criminal charges against Harald Neumann and Novomatic’s billionaire founder Johann Graf could have implications for Ainsworth Game Technology, given the Austrian company is the majority owner of the ASX-listed poker machine developer and has been worked on a buyout.