When PointsBet’s proposed sale to Japanese entertainment company Mixi was waved through by 95 per cent of shareholders on Wednesday, co-founder and CEO of the gambling outfit Sam Swanell said he was “pleasantly surprised”.

No shit. It had been expecting Matt Tripp’s Betr to use its 19.9 per cent holding to block the deal, which needed a 75 per cent approval vote. But miraculously, according to vote tallier Computershare, Betr didn’t vote. That’s despite having its own acquisition offer on the table and publicly declaring it would veto the deal.