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Four Corners - Season 2025 Episode 36 -
Losing Streak
Losing Streak
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😹
FunTranscript
00:00This program contains content that may concern some viewers, including references to suicide.
00:21Australians lose more from gambling per head of population than anywhere in the world.
00:27And we've become a haven for the world's online gambling giants.
00:32The Australian online betting industry has been the cash cow of the world's gambling industry.
00:37Online bookmakers have been accused of predatory practices.
00:42I was given the $50,000. I lost it in 40 minutes. I gave me a million dollars in about two months.
00:47Weak regulation has led to misery and exploitation.
00:51I think it's absolutely crazy.
00:53How can you just allow or push people to gamble in excess of $4 million and not even blink an eyelid?
01:02Months before she died, Labor MP Peter Murphy launched a blueprint on how to tackle gambling harm.
01:09Our report is called, you win some, you lose more.
01:12Over two years later, the Albanese government is yet to respond.
01:19The gambling industry is all powerful in this country.
01:24They have the major political parties in their back pocket.
01:27Do you accept that the way in which the industry currently operates in Australia is destroying people's lives?
01:31No. The vast majority of Australians who gamble with our products do so safely.
01:38Two sporting legends have joined forces to call for action.
01:43It's like 75% of teenagers now think that betting is just a normal part of watching sport.
01:49And anecdotally, that's exactly what I saw.
01:53Hi, what's there?
01:55We investigate the Albanese government's failure to act on gambling reform
02:00and the lack of regulation of this multi-billion dollar industry.
02:04Can I ask you why it's sometimes taking three to four years to hear people's complaints?
02:08When you do stories on gambling harm, you see the ripple effect that one person's out-of-control gambling can have on families and communities.
02:35And we're heading into Mildura to meet a couple who know that story all too well.
02:47We found out just before Christmas that our money was gone.
02:51That impacted our children. This has impacted our whole family.
02:56The mental toll it's taken on us, particularly Nick, it's been really difficult for him.
03:01I don't even know how to explain it. I was just completely shocked.
03:06I couldn't speak. I couldn't do anything.
03:09You just don't know where to turn. You don't know what to say.
03:11You don't even know how to feel. You just break down.
03:17Two years ago, Nick and Amy Mazza lost a quarter of a million dollars to online bookmakers without having placed a bet.
03:25Back there.
03:26$15,000, $27,000, $15,000, $20,000, $6,000, $5,000, $5,000, $5,000, $5,000, $7,000, all in the same day.
03:37It's ridiculous.
03:38Our story begins with, I was contacted by a financial advisor, Anthony Da Vecchio, who worked for a Melbourne financial planning firm, Freedom Finance.
03:48Anthony said that Freedom Finance were seeking new clients to enter in some investments.
03:55We looked into Anthony, we looked at the ASIC register, made sure he was registered, looked into the company, made sure they were a reputable company.
04:02We knew his parents, so we sort of thought, well, you know, he seems trustworthy, we should trust him.
04:09We had no reason not to trust him.
04:12Instead, Anthony Da Vecchio was gambling away the Mazza's investment.
04:17In April, he was sentenced to seven and a half years in jail for defrauding close to $4.5 million from over 30 clients, including family members.
04:28It's soul-destroying when it happens to be defrauded, but it's soul-destroying even more when it's a family member that you trust and love.
04:36While Del Vecchio was held accountable for his actions, the betting agencies got off scot-free.
04:43In sentencing, Judge Cannon seemed incredulous about the behaviour of the betting agencies and the culture they operate in.
04:51The judge highlighted inducements offered to keep Del Vecchio betting and said there was never a time when any gambling service questioned your conduct.
05:02She appeared shocked at the misery the betting agencies were inflicting on the community.
05:09Such business practices by these betting companies embody the expression, the banality of evil, in my view, and it's staggering that they are able to operate in our community in the ways that I've described, with impunity.
05:25They are evil. Did they ask where it was coming from? Did they stop to even care where it was coming from?
05:30Enticing them to make numerous bets, quite well knowing that they're going to lose, but with other people's money.
05:37The judge noted that around eight to ten betting agencies had offered Del Vecchio VIP services.
05:44VIP schemes are managed customer programs where there's an individual who's assigned to get their customer to bet more, to keep on betting.
05:57They do that by offering what's called inducements.
06:00People get tickets to big events, matched bets. You deposit $500, we'll match it. And those amounts go up. The more someone bets, the larger the amounts are.
06:15While Del Vecchio went to jail, the bookmakers kept the proceeds of his crimes.
06:20But no other industry would be able to keep proceeds of crime, so why are they allowed to keep it?
06:25It's not their money. And I sure didn't authorise them to have it, so I want it back.
06:31Kai Cantwell is the CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia, an industry group that represents six betting companies,
06:39four of which Anthony Del Vecchio gambled with.
06:43Do you acknowledge the betting companies that you represent are profiting from criminal behaviour?
06:49No.
06:50Okay. Well, Anthony Del Vecchio had net losses of three quarters of a million dollars with PointsBet,
06:57who are one of your members. That's money he stole from clients.
07:01You don't consider that company now to be profiting from criminal behaviour?
07:05There are laws and rules that apply to all businesses in Australia,
07:10and we follow the law of the country and the law of Australia.
07:15Criminals need to be dealt with by the criminal justice system,
07:18and the victims pursue those criminals through victims of crime.
07:23Give the call to the member for Clarke.
07:26Morning, Speaker.
07:27Speaker, I present the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment.
07:31On three separate occasions, Andrew Wilkie has tried to bring legislation to Parliament
07:36that would force betting agencies to hand back stolen money.
07:40The bill will ensure that gambling entities are held accountable by preventing them profiting
07:45from illegal behaviour in particular.
07:48Each time, it's been rejected.
07:51The fact that at the federal level, three times, the government and the opposition have failed to act,
07:56suggests to me, well, I think it proves to me that they continue to run a protection racket for the gambling industry.
08:02I think every reasonable Australian would say, if we know who's got the money,
08:07that money should be returned to the victims.
08:10I've never seen anything like this. Who does this?
08:14For the first time, Amy and Nick are looking at the list from the forensic report
08:18that details Del Vecchio's losses with 52 separate betting agencies.
08:25That is just mind-blowing.
08:28How anyone can be able to spend that much money without any questions.
08:33Oh, I just can't believe it.
08:35At the top of the list, a betting site called Mintbet.
08:39And he's lost a total of over $1 million to Mintbet that they still have in their possession.
08:47Well, there they go, they're off.
08:49Slowing to stride was Peggy Rose. It was on the back foot early door.
08:52Joined by a very familiar face in the picnic racing bookies ringing, Casey McCutcheon,
08:57also known as the Mintbet man, and Casey...
09:00Mintbet is run by third-generation bookmaker Casey McCutcheon.
09:04My old man's a bookie in the big smoke in the city and the country.
09:08Full forward from last. I think it's got there. Big win.
09:13When I rang him, he wasn't keen to talk.
09:16OK, did you ask for proof of income when Del Vecchio gambled with you?
09:21They think you should return the money.
09:23OK, he's hung up on me. All right.
09:28I tried to catch him outside the Backing the Punt conference in Melbourne.
09:33Casey, how are you? Steve Kinane from Four Corners.
09:36How are you? Can I talk to you?
09:38Casey McCutcheon is the director and ultimate shareholder of Mintbet.
09:44He's also its risk and compliance officer,
09:47which means it was up to him to do due diligence on big spending customers
09:51like Del Vecchio while also profiting from them.
09:56Later that night, we got word that Casey McCutcheon was about to turn up
10:00at a betting industry function in Melbourne's post office lane.
10:09Casey, Nick and Amy Mazza say that you've got their money.
10:12What would you say to them?
10:16They say you've got their proceeds of crime?
10:19You're the risk and compliance manager, aren't you, with Mintbet?
10:23Doesn't that mean you should have checked whether he could have gambled that amount of money?
10:30Is there a conflict of interest being the risk and compliance manager?
10:38If I saw Casey McCutcheon, I would just say,
10:40I do not know how you get up every morning and think that what you're doing is OK.
10:46I don't know how you sleep at night. You're living on our money.
10:50Why wasn't anyone asking Del Vecchio how much he was being paid
10:54and whether he had the money to lose four and a half million dollars?
10:58We have a significant role in identifying problematic behaviour,
11:03whether it's criminal or whether it's problem gambling behaviours.
11:06And we report those to the authorities and, of course,
11:10we intervene where someone is exhibiting problem gambling behaviours.
11:14But it's clearly not worked in this instance.
11:15Look, those problem gambling and criminal type red flags that go off in our system,
11:23we are improving every day.
11:25It is basically the Wild West of business in this country.
11:29I'd be hard pressed to think of any other business sector in Australia
11:33that is so weakly regulated, so weakly overseen.
11:37The location for the main regulator for online betting might surprise many Australians.
11:46I've come to Darwin, the sports betting epicentre of Australia,
11:52a place where over 40 online bookmakers are licensed.
11:56Companies that are worth over $50 billion a year in turnover.
12:02I'm here to find out more about the part-time regulator
12:07that oversees all the big betting companies,
12:10the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission,
12:13and try and talk to its chair, Alastair Shields,
12:16who seems like he's avoiding me.
12:17The big betting agencies have been drawn to Darwin because they pay minimal tax here,
12:28and they face minimal regulation as well.
12:32It was the Northern Territory's industry strategy
12:36to grow the racing and betting industry as a source of revenue for the Northern Territory.
12:41They lured operators there to become the jurisdiction of choice for the gambling industry.
12:49In the Northern Territory, it's the weakest regulation,
12:52it's the lowest tax, and it's the most useless regulator.
12:55I mean, I'd liken the regulator up there to one of those so-called chocolate teapots.
12:59It's useless.
13:01The regulator has no full-time staff relying on support from licensing NT
13:06and has not released an annual report since 1993.
13:09How do you run a regulator for the country
13:14that's got the highest per capita gambling losses in the world
13:17without full-time staff?
13:19If you compare it to, say, the UK Gambling Commission,
13:23it's got over 300 staff.
13:27The NT Racing and Wagering Commission meets once a month
13:31and has six part-time commissioners.
13:34The regulator has been accused of being too close to industry.
13:37Earlier this year, its chair Alastair Shields admitted to taking gifts from bookmakers.
13:43So do you take gifts from corporate bookmakers at things like the Darwin Cup or not?
13:51I have in the past attended the Darwin Cup as a guest.
13:54Of bookmakers?
13:55Yes.
13:56Alastair Shields has led the commission for the past seven years.
14:01He's refused repeated requests by Four Corners for an interview.
14:05Alastair, Steve Kinane from Four Corners.
14:07How are you?
14:08I'm good, thanks Steve.
14:09Good to see you.
14:10Is there any reason why we can't talk to you for Four Corners?
14:11Look, I'm sorry, I'm heading to a commission meeting now.
14:13Can we talk to you afterwards?
14:15I think I've already answered that question.
14:16Can you tell us, have you taken any corporate hospitality of the sports betting industry lately?
14:22And if so, how often?
14:23Can we talk to you after the meeting?
14:24How long's the meeting go for?
14:27Can you tell us how many hours you spend as the regulator here?
14:34Hey Chris, how are you?
14:35Hey, Steve. Good to see you.
14:37Christopher Walsh is the editor of the NT Independent.
14:41He can't understand how Alastair Shields finds the time to regulate Australia's biggest betting companies.
14:47How many jobs does Alastair Shields have?
14:49Well, many. A lot.
14:51And we're not even entirely sure.
14:53From what we can tell, he has at least nine.
14:56Nine positions on different boards and commissions in different roles as chair, mostly deputy chair, member.
15:03It's extraordinary.
15:04That doesn't leave much time to be the chair of the regulator overseeing betting agencies with an annual turnover of $50 billion plus.
15:13Yeah. Now, look, I don't know how he does it.
15:16I mean, he's also the chief executive officer of the Darwin Waterfront Corporation and the, what is he, the chair of the Australasia Railway Corporation at the same time.
15:24And on top of that, being chair of the Racing Wagering Commission, he's also a member of the Racing Appeals Tribunal.
15:31He's also the director of Greyhounds Australasia.
15:34Many of those responsible for regulating Australia's online bookmakers have had close ties to the industry.
15:42Four Corners has discovered that six of the past 10 commissioners have owned racehorses at various times, including Alastair Shields and Ian Kernow.
15:52Ian, can I ask you if you still own a racehorse or a share in a racehorse?
15:55No, no comment.
15:56Is it appropriate that people who are regulating the industry have shares in racehorses?
16:02I think the criteria in the Act for Selection to Communities speaks to itself and you should talk to the minister who appoints people to commissions around their eligibility.
16:11Six of the last 10 commissioners have had shares in racehorses. Is that a problem? Does that show that the commissioners are too close to the industry?
16:20No, no comment.
16:22Commissioners used to be banned from owning racehorses.
16:25But by 1996, that clause had been removed from the Territory's Racing and Betting Act.
16:35Former Commissioner Amy Corcoran also owned racehorses and declared that her husband owned a share of a horse with Matt Tripp,
16:43one of the pioneers of online betting in Australia.
16:46However, she did not recuse herself from matters involving Mr Tripp's betting agencies.
16:52In a statement, she said...
16:53My husband has never met or had any communication with Mr Tripp,
16:57either during that period of syndicate ownership or since.
17:03After leaving the commission, Amy Corcoran joined betting agency Dabble.
17:07When we asked the commission about conflicts of interest, a spokesperson said...
17:12The Department of Tourism and Hospitality will be reviewing the management of potential conflicts of interest
17:18within the Racing and Wagering Commission.
17:20And that under the Racing and Wagering Act, commissioners are supposed to have knowledge or experience
17:26in the racing or online gambling industries.
17:29Critics accused the commission of favouring the industry.
17:32Four Corners' analysis of over 170 published decisions shows two-thirds of them found no breach
17:40against the betting agencies.
17:45Lauren Levine believes the regulator is too close to industry
17:49and says she saw evidence of it at wagering forums in 2022 and 2023.
17:56I heard Alistair Shields proudly say to the industry participants
18:02that two of their commissioners owned racehorses.
18:05And it was said in the context of, we welcome you guys, we like the industry.
18:10I heard Phil Timney talk.
18:11He was the executive director of the department that oversees the Racing Commission.
18:17He said, we've never cancelled a licence.
18:20We can, but we never have.
18:22He said, we're unashamedly the racing and gambling jurisdiction
18:27and are open for business.
18:31Four Corners has confirmed the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission
18:35has never cancelled a licence due to disciplinary action.
18:40Philip Timney told Four Corners,
18:42I have no interest in talking to the media.
18:48When you look at the cases that have appeared before the commission,
18:51you really get a sense of how the betting agencies are rarely held to account.
18:57It was here in Darwin at the NT Racing Commission in April 2021
19:02that a contentious hearing was about to be held,
19:05involving a former professional footballer
19:08who had been enticed to open an account with BetEasy under his wife's name.
19:14It was a case that exposed the predatory practices of the industry
19:18and the inadequacies of the regulator in dealing with them.
19:21The man at the centre of this case, who we're calling Dave,
19:26was known to BetEasy as an out-of-control gambler
19:30who didn't want to punt anymore after losing over $200,000 in one day.
19:36Dave has signed a non-disclosure agreement.
19:39Jason Munsterman is his lawyer.
19:41At the end of the day, he had the good sense to close his account
19:46and had himself listed with BetEasy as a self-excluded gambler,
19:51which meant that from there on he couldn't open accounts
19:54or place any bets with BetEasy
19:56and he also was not to be contacted by them any further.
20:02A year later, Dave was contacted by a BetEasy affiliate,
20:06John Dow Jr., and encouraged to open an account under his wife's name.
20:12So affiliates ultimately are motivated to find people like Dave
20:16and encouragement to bet because they receive a commission
20:18based on the value of the bets that they place.
20:22In this case, the affiliate was John Dow
20:24and he was a relative of Matt Trip,
20:28a significant shareholder and CEO of BetEasy.
20:32At the time, Dave was in a vulnerable state,
20:37with two children in hospital.
20:40In total, he lost over $700,000 really on a couple of days of betting.
20:47Jason Munsterman helped Dave bring a case against BetEasy
20:51at the Northern Territory Racing Commission.
20:54What we found was the commission had very limited powers
20:57to be able to compel people to produce documents
20:59or to actually attend before the commission
21:02and the hearings were not conducted with the level of professionalism
21:06and rigour that I would have anticipated.
21:10The commission found that BetEasy breached two conditions of its licence
21:15by not complying with the responsible gaming code on multiple occasions
21:19and by having a blatant disregard of its own terms and conditions.
21:23It described BetEasy's failures as extremely serious
21:28but chose not to suspend its licence.
21:31Matt Trip declined to comment.
21:34John Dow Jr. did not respond.
21:36The ultimate punishment handed out to BetEasy was the total of fines
21:41in the order of $50,000 and the affiliate, we understand,
21:45received in the order of $200,000 in commissions
21:47and there was nothing, no clawing back or fines imposed on the affiliate at all.
21:52So it's not exactly a disincentive to prevent that kind of behaviour?
21:55Not at all.
21:57It's 2.30 in the afternoon
21:59and the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission
22:02has clocked off after its monthly meeting.
22:08Hi, Alistair.
22:10Meeting's over, can you talk to us now?
22:12Is that a no?
22:13Can I ask you why it's sometimes taking three to four years
22:17to hear people's complaints?
22:20Can I also ask you, when Amy Corcoran was a commissioner,
22:25her husband owned a horse with Matt Trip,
22:29why did she not recuse herself from those hearings?
22:33Can you tell us that?
22:34Thanks, thank you, sir.
22:35I wanted to find out if other gambling regulators around the world
22:51operate like this.
22:56A big part of the market actually disappeared...
22:59I tracked down Anders Dorff, the regulator in Denmark.
23:02The Danish Gambling Authority has 150 employees
23:06and we have a budget around 13 million euros.
23:10How do you make sure
23:12the people regulating the industry in Denmark
23:15are at arm's length from the industry?
23:18Well, we're not allowed to have any conflict of interest
23:22with the operators, of course.
23:24In Denmark, we cannot take corporate hospitality from a bookmaker.
23:28Yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:30Anders says his regulator makes sure the betting agencies
23:33honour their duty of care to customers
23:35and strictly monitor their betting behaviour.
23:38Online betting operators have to comply with the rules
23:42and the duty of care.
23:44And within these rules, you have to be...
23:46follow the pattern of the gambler
23:48and make sure they don't gamble too much.
23:50In the ultimate situation, they have to show their pay package
23:53and how their financial situation looks like.
23:55And then if it's sound, it can go on.
23:58But if it's not sound, they have to limit the gambler
24:02or exclude the gambler.
24:08A legend of Australian sport touches down in Canberra.
24:16He's here to urge the government to act on gambling reforms.
24:20I've been a part of sport a long time.
24:25I've seen gambling ruin a lot of lives.
24:28The fact that we're advertising it every day
24:31during sporting events, during sporting games
24:34is desensitising kids and normalising it.
24:37That's why I'm here.
24:38I think we have a responsibility not to do that particularly
24:41to our younger generation.
24:43I'm glad to see you in the jumper.
24:44How you going?
24:45Thanks. Nice to meet you.
24:46You too.
24:48Test cricketer Usman Khawaja is joining forces
24:51with former Wallaby captain Senator David Pocock
24:54to push for a ban on gambling advertising.
24:56It's like 75% of teenagers now think that betting is just a normal part
25:04of watching sport.
25:05Yeah. And anecdotally, that's exactly what I saw.
25:08Like, what's sport for?
25:10Is it to be able to flog off, like, a harmful product?
25:16You know, for industries to be able to advertise?
25:18Or is it about community and learning life skills?
25:21Welcome along to viewers all around the world.
25:29It's a series...
25:31As an Australian test cricketer,
25:33Usman Khawaja can't avoid gambling ads.
25:36Along with Usman Khawaja...
25:38Each time you go out to bat in a test match in Australia,
25:42you step over a boundary rope with Bet365 on it.
25:46How do you feel when you do that?
25:48Yeah, I don't love it.
25:49Honestly, I've brought this up with the Australian Cricket Association.
25:52We're Australia's national sport.
25:54We are cricket. We're the biggest sport in the country.
25:56I think we have a responsibility to lead the way.
25:59Short to Khawaja. He's on 94!
26:02Not anymore, he's not.
26:04100 for King Khawaja.
26:06Cricket is less reliant on gambling money than the big football codes.
26:10And unlike the NRL and the AFL,
26:12its leadership is not actively lobbying against an ad ban.
26:15The sporting codes are saying if you get rid of the gambling advertising revenue,
26:22it's going to affect the grassroots.
26:25What do you say to that?
26:27Rubbish. Absolute rubbish.
26:29I mean, people in Australia love sport.
26:33They were playing sport when they were getting paid peanuts.
26:35We still love sport. We still play sport. It's a cop-out.
26:41On behalf of the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs...
26:45Much of the impetus to ban gambling advertising came from a Labor backbencher who used to be an elite athlete.
26:51We know that online gambling companies advertise so much in Australia because advertising works.
26:56Peter Murphy chaired the cross-parliamentary committee that released a groundbreaking review into online gambling over two years ago.
27:04We heard evidence about the way gambling advertising also grooms children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behaviour.
27:12One of the things I loved about it is this committee had representation from all across the political spectrum
27:16and we were all there to solve this problem that we all really cared about.
27:21All the people on that committee really were seeing the social harms that it was causing in their own communities.
27:26The committee made 31 recommendations, including banning gambling advertising,
27:32bringing in a national regulator and banning inducements and commissions.
27:39Five months after tabling this report, Peter Murphy died from cancer.
27:44A short time ago, Peter Murphy passed away at home, which was her wish.
27:59She helped lead the charge for important reforms like reducing the harm from online gambling
28:05because she understood the greatest privilege of public office is the opportunity to make a difference.
28:11I'm really furious about the lack of action on this report.
28:16It's now more than two years and not only have they not implemented any recommendations,
28:21they haven't even responded.
28:23And people on both sides of parliament have said to me,
28:27you've got to keep it up.
28:29It's hard for me to talk about this within my party.
28:31What's stopping the government from acting?
28:32The barrier to the government acting here is money and power.
28:37And gambling companies donate millions of dollars to political parties.
28:42They don't want to see any change.
28:44Sporting codes get multiple revenue streams from gambling ads,
28:49and they don't want to see this change.
28:51And broadcast media make a huge amount of money from these ads.
28:55They don't want this to change.
28:56They don't want this to change.
29:01Kai Cantwell is one of the lobbyists pushing against key recommendations of the Murphy Review,
29:07such as a total ban on advertising.
29:09He's often seen at Parliament House and parliamentary football games.
29:14Why doesn't the industry support a total ban?
29:20Because total bans won't be effective.
29:21Total bans will simply drive Australian consumers into the illegal offshore market,
29:27where there are no consumer protections.
29:29What's the evidence of that?
29:31We've seen evidence internationally.
29:33So we've seen evidence in Norway, Denmark, Sweden.
29:38There is a swathe of evidence across the world that says that over-regulation
29:44drives people into the illegal offshore market.
29:47But the regulators from those three countries say that's not true.
29:52No, the restrictions in 2020 didn't leave to a bigger offshore market.
29:59Regulatory bodies in Norway and Sweden have also told Four Corners
30:04that illegal offshore betting has been decreasing in their countries.
30:08Whenever any government wants to regulate the gambling industry,
30:11they say, oh, everyone's going to go offshore, and they unregulate it.
30:17The bank figures show that it's just a really small percentage
30:21who are going overseas.
30:23I think the industry overstates that.
30:25But that hasn't stopped the Prime Minister from using similar rhetoric.
30:29What is in your mind, I guess, preventing this action?
30:32What's in our mind is practicalities of whether people just go offshore,
30:36then there's no revenue at all, they engage in gambling,
30:40with no revenue coming back at all, and it doesn't solve the problem.
30:45Thank the member for her question.
30:47There were further eyebrows raised when the Prime Minister suggested
30:51that lotteries were causing more harm than online betting.
30:54More than around about 15% off the top of my head, it's about that figure,
31:01comes from lotteries and lotto and those tickets as well.
31:05I'm yet to see anyone stand up in this place
31:09and advocate banning completely all advertising of lottery and lotto tickets.
31:16I've tried to dig into this at Estimates where you ask the department,
31:19where did these stats come from?
31:20No-one knows. No-one has any idea.
31:23And the only two people who've said them publicly
31:26are Peter Volandis and the Prime Minister,
31:29and that's a real worry.
31:31NRL chairman Peter Volandis is one of the fiercest critics of an ad ban.
31:36Records of the Prime Minister's diary show
31:39he has had official meetings with Anthony Albanese
31:42at least three times since Peter Murphy's report was handed down.
31:46Peter Volandis, who is also CEO of Racing NSW,
31:52is credited with bringing big money into the NRL from the gambling companies.
31:57Former NRL executives have told Four Corners
32:01the game and its clubs now make close to $100 million a year
32:05from gambling sponsorships and product fees.
32:07Peter Volandis has described a proposed ad ban as nanny state ideology.
32:14The Prime Minister was not available for interview
32:18and his office did not provide answers to a list of questions.
32:21From inside prison, Gavin Feneff has written to the Prime Minister
32:32asking him to rein in the gambling companies.
32:35Why are you talking to Four Corners?
32:38I care about reducing harm, Steve.
32:41I caused a lot of it myself.
32:42I experienced a lot of it myself.
32:44I experienced a lot of it myself.
32:47I've seen the harm to families and everyone around me
32:51and I've got a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old.
32:53I'm speaking because the only way to make sense of all that harm
32:57is to do something about it.
32:59A former financial planner,
33:01Gavin Feneff is serving a nine-year sentence
33:02for defrauding over $3 million from clients
33:07to fund his gambling addiction.
33:09He spoke to Peter Murphy's parliamentary inquiry in 2023
33:13and says the government should act now
33:16on three key recommendations.
33:18They must cancel inducements immediately.
33:22If they want to offer a marketing effort to customers
33:26then offer better odds.
33:28Cancel commissions.
33:29That's obvious.
33:31That if staff receive more money
33:34based on customers losing more money
33:38then that smells straight away.
33:40And cancel advertising.
33:50I first met Gavin Feneff five years ago
33:54before he'd been arrested.
33:56His out-of-control gambling
33:57which destroyed the lives of others
34:00had been fuelled by VIP inducements.
34:02The VIP managers play a crucial role
34:06in inducing consumers to open accounts
34:10and also inducing them to continue gambling.
34:14They usually have a direct line of communication,
34:17usually chatting to them on the mobile phone,
34:19establishing rapport, building a friendship.
34:22Gavin Feneff says he lost $3.9 million with Tabcorp
34:28before they first asked for proof of income.
34:31It was only after that that his account was closed.
34:34Then, out of the blue, he got calls from VIP managers
34:37at Ladbrokes and BetEasy, who knew of his gambling history.
34:43I didn't know these two guys I was approached
34:47offered quite a bit of money to open an account with them.
34:51You put $50,000 in front of an addict,
34:55especially one that owes nearly $4 million.
34:57I'm going to say yes.
35:00The more inducements he was offered,
35:03the more he misappropriated funds from clients
35:06to get deposit matches,
35:08hoping he could claw back his losses.
35:10I was given the $50,000.
35:12I lost it in 40 minutes.
35:13I got another $50,000 the next day.
35:15They gave $1 million in about two months.
35:16Those last two gambling companies gave me a combined
35:24$3.5 million worth of free betting money
35:28and I lost $4.4 million.
35:30And that happened in 18 months.
35:32The Northern Territory Racing Commission
35:34investigated both Ladbrokes and BetEasy
35:37and fined both companies.
35:39In the example of Ladbrokes,
35:42the profit from Gavin was $750,000.
35:47The fine that they received was $78,000.
35:51BetEasy made $3.6 million in profit from Gavin
35:55from his betting activity.
35:57Their fine was just shy of $80,000.
36:02What kind of disincentive is that penalty?
36:06Natalia Nikolic believes the NT Racing Commission
36:10failed not just Gavin but the public.
36:14You have systematic failures to ask basic questions
36:20about the source of funds that he was gambling with.
36:23You have VIP managers that are inducing his betting activity
36:30and the NTRC did not think that this was significant enough
36:35for them to either say that the bets were unlawful
36:40or make any changes to the licensing conditions
36:46that these operators were able to operate under.
36:52Another regulator is dialling up the pressure
36:55on the betting agencies.
36:56AUSTRAC has launched legal proceedings
36:59against online gambling giant Entain,
37:02who runs Ladbrokes and Neds.
37:05Its bombshell statement of claim
37:07identifies the staggering degree
37:10to which betting agencies rely on VIP customers.
37:13We do know the top 2% of their customers brought in 65% of their revenue,
37:19and that really is a concern when any business is reliant
37:24on a small number of customers for a significant amount of its revenue.
37:28Former betting industry insiders have told Four Corners
37:31that are incentivised to prey on this small minority of high-value gamblers.
37:37We've been told of weekly emails sent to VIP managers
37:41urging them to target certain customers.
37:44Emails with graphs and spreadsheets showing which punters are up,
37:48which punters are down, like a form guide on who to target.
37:52And we've been told that some VIP managers make more than company executives,
37:56with some boasting of making around a half a million dollars
38:01in commissions alone during the spring racing carnival.
38:04I'm horrified that this industry can continue to operate in this way
38:09with impunity, and we just turn a blind eye to it.
38:13Do you think VIP schemes are harmful at all?
38:16No.
38:18Well, if they're not harmful,
38:20why did the betting agencies in the UK agree to restrict VIP schemes?
38:23Well, I won't provide commentary on what's happening in the UK,
38:26but what I will say is VIP customers are treated exactly the same
38:29with regard to consumer protections.
38:31Kai Cantwell is wrong.
38:33VIP programs are hugely harmful,
38:36and other regulators overseas have recognised that.
38:40AUSTRAC alleges Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes and Neds,
38:45failed to comply with Australia's anti-money laundering laws.
38:49The problem was its VIP programs.
38:52AUSTRAC alleges the company was not doing proper checks
38:56on 17 of its most lucrative VIP customers.
39:00Well, our statement of claim identifies those 17 clients,
39:05and they've gambled more than $100 million through that business.
39:09So that shows the volume of money a small number of people can churn
39:13through in a relatively short period of time.
39:15When VIP gamblers lose, their VIP managers win big from commissions.
39:22The Murphy Review recommended abolishing these commissions,
39:26and now AUSTRAC has identified them as a conflict of interest.
39:31Well, it encourages a greater amount of gambling
39:34and it encourages potentially perverse behaviour
39:37where people might be encouraged to turn a blind eye
39:39to what might be illicit behaviour.
39:42And we've certainly seen that numerous times
39:44in gambling businesses in Australia.
39:46Despite all of these concerns,
39:49the industry continues to pay commissions on gamblers' losses.
39:53Do you think they're a conflict of interest?
39:55Uh, no.
39:58AUSTRAC says they are.
40:00Australia's anti-money laundering regulator
40:02says these commissions are a conflict of interest.
40:04Do you disagree with AUSTRAC on this?
40:06I think it's a challenging topic,
40:08but as I say, it's largely a practice
40:10that is on its way out in Australia.
40:12Sportsbet has told Four Corners
40:15it's abolished the payment of commissions.
40:18In a statement, Entain said
40:20they have fully cooperated with AUSTRAC
40:23and made significant changes to their leadership and governance,
40:26as well as increasing resources for compliance and safer gambling.
40:31That's a big question.
40:32Gavin Feneff was targeted as a VIP customer
40:36by three different betting agencies.
40:38He wants policy makers to understand
40:41how vulnerable people with a gambling disorder are
40:44to the tactics of VIP managers.
40:46The overwhelming feeling is just this, uh,
40:51chasing rage.
40:53This tightening of the chest
40:56that is just an energy that would come up in you
40:58and just have the effect of narrowing everything into doing
41:02what needs to be done to chase the losses.
41:06And you believe that you can do it.
41:08Otherwise, why would I keep doing it?
41:14At Parliament House,
41:15Usman Khawaja and David Pocock have joined a roundtable
41:19on gambling harm.
41:21Once we normalise gambling,
41:23it's so hard to come back from that.
41:25Kate, who doesn't want to be identified,
41:28lost her brother to suicide.
41:29She's about to address the room via video link.
41:33What does it look like for someone to lose $10,000 a year
41:36to the gambling industry?
41:38I can paint this picture for you
41:40because this is exactly the burden
41:42that our 24-year-old brother was carrying
41:44six days before he ended his life.
41:46On this particular day,
41:49he walked into the kitchen with pain all over his face.
41:52And I could tell something was wrong,
41:54so I prompted him.
41:56Are you okay?
41:57You need to borrow some money.
41:59He could barely find the words,
42:01but he did need to borrow $10,000.
42:03Six days later,
42:05my dad's sister and I found him
42:07500 metres from our childhood home.
42:10The sound dad made,
42:15the look on my sister's face,
42:17haunts me every moment of every day.
42:20As he had stated in his suicide note,
42:23I'm so disgusted and revolted with myself
42:26that I don't want to end my life before my addiction
42:28ruins more people around me.
42:30The final straw was continuing to receive inducements
42:33from sportsbed after he had self-excluded.
42:36He felt that he had a new way out.
42:37Tim Costello says he told the Prime Minister
42:41about Kate's brother's suicide
42:43and urged him to talk to the family.
42:46This year, I have written nine times
42:48to various ministers seeking a meeting about gambling harm.
42:51Tim Costello said to the Prime Minister
42:53he should contact people with lived experience
42:55to understand gambling harm.
42:57I waited for that opportunity,
42:59but I never heard from him.
43:04As elected representatives,
43:05we're here to work for people.
43:07We're not here to do the bidding of the gambling industry
43:10or Peter Volandis and the NRL.
43:12Like, we have to put people and communities
43:15ahead of vested interests.
43:17And I think this is a perfect example of what happens
43:20when vested interests apply pressure.
43:22You see, currently, the Labor government capitulating.
43:27Annika Wells is the minister in charge of responding to the recommendation
43:32to ban advertising.
43:34She was also a close friend of Peter Murphy's.
43:37Like the Prime Minister, she was unavailable for interview.
43:41So we turned up at a doorstop she did in Sydney last week.
43:44Minister, for weeks, Four Corners has been trying to get an interview with you
43:48about the government's inaction on the Murphy Review and the 31 recommendations.
43:52It's now nearly two and a half years since that report was released by your friend.
43:57Why has the government not acted on that yet?
43:59Hi, Steve. I believe we spoke briefly in Parliament a few weeks ago.
44:03The work continues. It's important work.
44:04I continue to talk to and engage with stakeholders about how we plot a path through
44:09to deliver some important reforms.
44:11Is it the Prime Minister who's blocking this?
44:13The work continues. There is no blockage.
44:15It's complex work. And if it was easy to have been completed,
44:18we would have completed it already.
44:20However, the work continues. It's important and I am grateful to be doing it.
44:23And what did you think of Peter Murphy's response?
44:24Please respond.
44:38In the next few months, the Albanese government will be under pressure
44:43to respond to Peter Murphy's review.
44:50I have a high regard for Anthony Albanese.
44:51I think he is a man of integrity, but in this regard, this is a shocking failure.
44:58This failure to move quickly to implement all or most of the Peter Murphy report recommendations.
45:08I think many of her colleagues would be pretty sad and disappointed
45:12and would feel like that's not really doing honour to the legacy
45:16that she was hoping to leave and that she deserved to leave.
45:19Hello. Hi, I'm Courtney. Hi Courtney.
45:23Months before she died, Peter Murphy was hopeful the government would act on her report.
45:28It remains to be seen whether she had cause to be optimistic.
45:33You lose more.
45:35So I'm positive that we will see a very strong response from the government.
45:40They understand, I know, that Australians want to see some change.
45:46So I think it will make a big difference to their lives.
45:52Well, thank you very much.
45:53Thank you very much.
46:23If this program has raised concerns for you, you can contact one of these services.
46:38.
46:43.
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