Endorphina Withdraws Maori Slot from the Portfolio

Prominent Czech software company Endorphina, has removed Maori-inspired slot machine from their website and partner casinos. The company has made the decision to pull the Maori slot game from the market after receiving negative feedback from certain New Zealanders and tribe representatives who were offended by the use of their traditional symbols and the appropriation of their culture in the game, also protesting against an intellectual property breach. Hapai te Hauora, a non-profit Maori Public Health organization based in Auckland, demanded the slot removal from the public channels and an official apology issued.

Maori slot was released in December 2016 and was meant to represent ''the celebration of the cultural heritage of New Zealand''. Many months went into the research and development of the game's design and features, and it was well received by players worldwide. With five reels and nine pay-lines, this release boasts a range of Maori-themed icons, free spins, wilds and scatters. There is a bonus game which features a type of a traditional Maori war dance, as well as several animated characters representing the natives. The slot is no longer available for play as Endorphina has complied with Hapai te Hauora request, issuing an official statement about the incident and explaining their decision:

"Our main intention with the Māori game and with any other culture-oriented game is always to broaden the cultural knowledge, open-mindedness and understanding among people. Our games are made to entertain people and we want to give them an option to get on a journey to different worlds and realities without the need of leaving their homes. Also, we try to convey the experience of exploring and discovering new countries to a wide audience worldwide as not everyone is lucky enough to be given the privilege to travel and see the world himself.''

''Creating a culture-related game, we do not intend to specifically target people that are related to this culture. We want to attract foreign players and give them an exclusive insight to different cultures, those that exist nowadays as well as those who don´t, like our Urartu slot. This game was appreciated worldwide but the positive feedback also came from Armenia and local players. When we receive positive feedback from the country the game was designed after, it is the most valuable recognition we can ask for as developers.''

''Endorphina’s team is whole-heartedly sorry for this unfortunate situation and our official apology has already been sent to Māori authorities. It was never our intention to insult Māoris or to cause any kind of cultural misinterpretation.''