This Month
AUSTRAC sues Ladbrokes and Neds owner
Entain allegedly did not conduct appropriate checks on 17 high-risk customers and deliberately obscured the identity of some through use of pseudonyms.
- Zoe Samios
- Updated
- Tabcorp
Tabcorp slashes 10pc of workforce in cost cut drive
The move is the first major change made by the wagering group’s new chief executive Gillon McLachlan. Cost-cutting had been flagged with investors last month.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios
November
‘Vested interests’ frustrate gambling ad reforms
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland is facing growing frustration, including from within her own party, over the shelving of plans to restrict gambling advertising.
- Max Mason
- Exclusive
- Tabcorp
Deposed Tabcorp boss has a warning for CEOs everywhere
In his first interview since being sacked as the chief executive of the wagering giant, Adam Rytenskild says he was put “six feet under” with no warning.
- Zoe Samios
- Exclusive
- Gaming & wagering
Laurence Escalante’s VGW bulks up exec ranks as casinos bristle
Virtual Gaming Worlds was one of the early beneficiaries of a US legislative loophole in states where gambling is otherwise banned. It’s now under attack.
- Primrose Riordan and Zoe Samios
- Exclusive
- Gambling
V’landys slams gambling probe, claims NRL betting is least damaging
Peter V’landys doubled down on past claims racing and sports betting are less harmful than lotteries and slammed all 31 recommendations of the parliamentary inquiry.
- Ronald Mizen
October
Betting firms pull $150m in advertising as crackdown looms
The Albanese government says it will unveil new restrictions on wagering advertising before the end of the year. Gambling firms are already pulling back.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
Crypto casino Rich Lister victim of attempted kidnapping
Billionaire Tim Heath was attacked in his home in Estonia in July by a group of foreign nationals who attempted to abduct him.
- Yolanda Redrup
- Exclusive
- Gambling
NRL, AFL personally lobbied Anthony Albanese against gambling ad ban
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NRL chairman Peter V’landys have been singing from the same songbook when it comes to gambling advertising. New details suggest why.
- Ronald Mizen
Labor MP blasts tax credit scheme as gambling firms claim millions
Revelations that gambling companies have been spending millions on R&D tax credits have come as a surprise to some senior figures in Labor.
- Zoe Samios and Ronald Mizen
September
Tabcorp chairman Bruce Akhurst quits before he is pushed
Investors have been concerned about the wagering giant’s performance, with its shares down 50 per cent since the start of the year.
- Updated
- Zoe Samios
‘Show some courage’: Pressure on Albanese over gambling ad ban
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says gambling, not advertising, is the biggest issue to be dealt with, and reiterated his opposition to a total ad ban.
- Ronald Mizen
- Updated
- Gaming & wagering
Online casino mogul gets into lotteries as profits surge
Revenues at Virtual Gaming Worlds, which pioneered the use of a loophole to offer casino-like games with cash prizes in the US, has soared above $6 billion, accounts show.
- Updated
- Primrose Riordan
HG Vora chips away at Pointsbet stake; Jefferies on hand
Sources said it was a standard block trade, with three funds on the buy side.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Tabcorp’s former CEO says betting ads have gone too far
Elmer Funke Kupper said the risk of harm from wagering had “materially increased” since the rise of social media, smartphones and targeted online advertising.
- Sam Buckingham-Jones
- Exclusive
- Gambling
Gambling advertising ban on jerseys and stadium signs back in play
The government had planned a separate process, but discussions have restarted after bookies supported the idea.
- Ronald Mizen, Zoe Samios and Sam Buckingham-Jones
August
Inside the billion-dollar battle to ban gambling ads
This week on The Fin podcast, Ronald Mizen and Sam Buckingham-Jones on what the government is likely to do and whether it will be enough.
Billionaire Laurence Escalante’s gaming empire under attack
Virtual Gaming Worlds is facing increasing competition and regulatory pressures in the United States, its main market.
- Primrose Riordan and Zoe Samios
- Opinion
- Opinion
We’ve heard TV stations and footy codes prophesise doom before
The gambling lobby has a well-thumbed playbook developed from earlier health warnings and advertising restrictions on tobacco and alcohol.
- Martin Thomas
- Opinion
- Opinion
Sponsorship money doesn’t grow on trees and less popular sports will lose out
As we saw when tobacco advertising was banned, elite sports had little difficulty is attracting new sponsors, but non-elite ones will struggle.
- Sinclair Davidson