Aussie politicians had apparently hit the jackpot as the rivalry between local lottery newsagents and Gibraltar-based online bookmaker Lottoland dragged on for two years.

The Herald Sun reported that Australian lottery giant Tatts Group poured donation money worth thousands of dollars to the coffers of political parties just to ensure their victory against what they described to be online “fake lotto” competitors.

Coincidentally, The Sun’s report came out just a week after the Northern Territory Government instructed the racing commission to prohibit Lottoland from accepting bets on Australian-based lotteries.

Citing public political donations records, the report claimed that Tatts Group has dispatched lobbyists to state and federal branches of Liberal and Labor and wooed them with AUD100,000 (US$75,751) in donations.