Bookie Robbie Waterhouse to learn fate over claims he offered inducements

Australia’s best-known bookie and husband of legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse will have to wait to learn his fate over claims he induced a punter to keep betting.

Australia’s best-known bookmaker will have to wait months to learn his fate over allegations he offered a punter inducements to keep betting after they asked to close their account.

Robbie Waterhouse, 69, is fighting allegations he breached the Betting and Racing Act during interactions with a client of his bookmaking website RobWaterhouse.com in May 2022.

One of the website’s customers requested to permanently close his account on May 14, the court previously heard.

Liquor & Gaming NSW alleges the client’s account was deactivated but not permanently closed.

Robbie Waterhouse allegedly incentivised a punter to continue betting after they asked to close their account. Picture: Newswire /Gaye Gerard

The state’s regulator claims Mr Waterhouse, the husband of legendary horse trainer Gai Waterhouse, accepted new bets from the customer on six occasions after he asked to close his account.

The court previously heard the client was offered matched deposits, worth up to $1000, or a $100 bonus bet by a RobWaterhouse.com representative.

His lawyer Rob Ranken previously queried chat logs between the client and a customer service representative in which the customer threatened to take his business elsewhere.

In the chat read out to the court, the client threatened to close his account and go to a competitor after his request for a no-deposit bonus bet was denied.

When the customer service representative confirmed the account had been closed, he reminded the customer that the site was willing to match any deposit up to $1000 if the account was reopened.

Mr Ranken questioned whether that offer had been made prior to the customer’s request to close the account.

Mr Waterhouse has pleaded not guilty to six counts of accepting new bets after a request to close a betting account and five counts of offering inducements to a person not to close a betting account.

Award-winning horse trainer Gai Waterhouse has been married to Robbie for more than four decades.

On Monday, the court was told Australia’s most high-profile bookie would have to wait nearly four months to learn the outcome of his fight against the charges.

The court heard the magistrate overseeing the case, Gemma Slack-Smith, has been relocated to Bathurst and will have limited availability to hand down her decision.

Ms Slack-Smith will hand down her decision on November 15.

If convicted of the breaches of betting and racing legislation, Mr Waterhouse faces a fine of up to $121,000.