Adam Rytenskild’s alleged sexually charged remark to regulator amid workplace row

Vulgar comments former Tabcorp boss Adam Rytenskild allegedly made about a gambling regulator are revealed in court documents, as the ex-CEO seeks millions in compensation.

Tabcorp’s former CEO, Adam Rytenskild, at Flemington in 2022. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

The alleged vulgarity at the heart of former Tabcorp boss Adam Rytenskild’s contested exit from the bookmaker has been described in court documents as trading a sexual act for regulatory suitability.

Mr Rytenskild denies making the derogatory comment about a female executive of the Victorian Gambling Casino and Control Commission in 2023, but Tabcorp says an external investigation — conducted by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills — alleged he did and that “created substantial commercial, regulatory and governance risks for Tabcorp”.

Speculation about why Rytenskild quit Tabcorp in March last year was intensely focused on vague details published in a statement to the market, which announced his decision to quit after becoming aware of “inappropriate and offensive language used by Mr Rytenskild in the workplace”.

Since then, Mr Rytenskild secured a win from the Fair Work Commission who ruled the listed gambling giant gave him no choice but to resign after he was called to a meeting with then chair Bruce Akhurst and directors Raelene Murphy and David Gallop without notice on March 14. He has also described a culture of crass and tawdry workplace language.

Former Tabcorp boss Adam Rytenskild. Picture: Matrixnews

Now, he is suing Tabcorp and its board in the Federal Court seeking damages of at least $750,000 in lost salary and super plus millions extra in lost equity interests, inability to work in the future and extra for defaming him.

Tabcorp claimed Mr Rytenskild made the vulgar remark at a “closed door” meeting in August 2023 with chief legal regulatory officer John Fitzgerald and general manager of regulatory affairs Joel Williams, while preparing to meet with the VGCCC about its licence.

“In response to a question from Mr Williams to the effect of ‘how far is Tabcorp willing to go?’, Mr Rytenskild said ‘I will lick her p*ssy, if I have to’,” Tabcorp’s defence documents, seen by The Australian, alleged.

“The action of the board of Tabcorp on 13 and/or 14 March 2024 was motivated solely because the members of the board, based on the (Herbert Smith Freehills) findings, were satisfied that Mr Rytenskild had made the offending statement and his continuing employment as CEO in a highly regulated industry was not tenable,” the defence filings said.

As well, Tabcorp noted the alleged misconduct may have jeopardised the betting company’s licence.

“The offending statement was about the CEO of the VGCCC who at the relevant time was assessing whether Tabcorp was suitable to hold the licence, and where maintaining the licence was critical to ensure the long term sustainability of Tabcorp, and where, at the time of the misconduct, it had the capacity to prejudice the awarding of the licence,” the defence document said.

Mr Rytenskild claimed he “was in a state of shock and panic,” after he met with Mr Akhurst, according to the court documents.

“Mr Rytenskild denied the alleged misconduct, stated that he did not recall engaging in the alleged misconduct … (and) stated that the alleged misconduct was inconsistent with the kind of language that he had ever used over the course of his long employment with Tabcorp,” he said.

Mr Rytenskild — who had worked at the betting giant for nearly 25 years since April 2000 — observed that he had not been given any opportunity to be interviewed as part of the investigation.

He also claimed in the documents other directors made vulgar remarks in the workplace but were not reprimanded.

“The reasons provided by Tabcorp for determining that Mr Rytenskild’s employment should come to an end was inconsistent with the conduct of certain directors,” the court documents said.

“An example of such conduct is Ms Murphy making an uncouth sexual comment in her interview to become a director and her subsequent joking about it following her appointment.

“(An example is Raelene) Murphy stating, ‘I’ve got big tits and was a publican’s daughter so it made me popular with the boys when I was growing up’ during her interview to become a director.”

Further, Mr Rytenskild claimed at formal and informal board meetings when he was CEO, former director Justin Milne “frequently referred to women in disrespectful terms”.

“Examples of such comments include Mr Milne referring to a senior female employee in Tabcorp’s human resources team as ‘the chick from HR’ and a senior female audit manager as ‘the girl from audit’,” the court documents allege.

“Mr Milne disrespectfully denigrated the practice of paying respects to Aboriginal peoples and elders in meetings and company documents.”

In Tabcorp’s defence, the company denied these specific claims and said they could be struck out from the pleading.

But after they discovered the alleged exchange, Mr Akhurst told Mr Rytenskild he could not see how he could continue as CEO.

In Tabcorp’s defence papers, the company said until 13 March 2024, members of the board were “largely satisfied with Mr Rytenskild’s performance as CEO”.

“Tabcorp would need to tell the VGCCC about it as there is a real risk that it could become public at any time, and Tabcorp could not risk the VGCCC finding out about it by those means,” Tabcorp’s defence said.

Originally published as Adam Rytenskild’s alleged sexually charged remark to regulator amid workplace row