Losing Streak - ABC News

‘Losing Streak’
7 October 2025
Four Corners

STEVE CANNANE, REPORTER: Australians lose more from gambling per head of population than anywhere in the world, and we’ve become a haven for the world’s online gambling giants.

LAUREN LEVIN, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: The Australian online betting industry has been the cash cow of the world’s gambling industry.

STEVE CANNANE, REPORTER: Online bookmakers have been accused of predatory practices.

GAVIN FINEFF, FORMER GAMBLER: I was given the $50,000, I lost it in 40 minutes. They gave me a million dollars in about two months.

STEVE CANNANE: Weak regulation has led to misery and exploitation.

NICK MAZZA: I think it’s absolutely crazy. How can you just allow or push people to gamble in excess of $4 million and not even blink an eyelid.

STEVE CANNANE: Months before she died, Labor MP Peta Murphy launched a blueprint on how to tackle gambling harm.

PETA MURPHY, LABOR MP (2023): Our report is called You Win some, You Lose More.

STEVE CANNANE: Over two years later the Albanese government is yet to respond.

ANDREW WILKIE, INDEPENDENT MP: The gambling industry is all powerful in this country. They have the major political parties in their back pocket.

STEVE CANNANE: Do you accept that the way in which the industry currently operates in Australia is destroying people’s lives?

KAI CANTWELL, CEO RESPONSIBLE WAGERING AUSTRALIA: No. The vast majority of Australians who gamble with our products do so safely.

STEVE CANNANE: Two sporting legends have joined forces to call for action

DAVID POCOCK, INDEPENDENT SENATOR FOR THE ACT: 75% of teenagers now think that betting is just a normal part of watching sport.

USMAN KHAWAJA, TEST CRICKETER: And anecdotally, that’s exactly what I saw.

STEVE CANNANE: Hi Alastair…We investigate the Albanese government’s failure to act on gambling reform, and the lack of regulation of this multi-billion dollar industry.
…Can I ask you why its sometimes taking 3-4 years to hear people’s complaints.

TITLE: LOSING STREAK

STEVE CANNANE: When 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. And we are heading into Mildura to meet a couple who know that story all too well.

AIMEE MAZZA: We found out just before Christmas that our money was gone. That impacted our children. This has impacted our whole family. The mental toll it’s taken on us, particularly Nick. It’s been really difficult for him.

NICK MAZZA: I don’t even know how to explain it. I was just completely shocked. I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t do anything. You just don’t know where to turn. You don’t what to say. You don’t even know how to feel. You just break down.

STEVE CANNANE, REPORTER: Two years ago Nick and Aimee Mazza lost a quarter of a million dollars to online bookmakers without having placed a bet.

NICK MAZZA: It’s 15,000, 27,000, 15,000, 20,000 6, 5, 8, 5, 7. All in the same day. It’s ridiculous. Our story begins with I was contacted by a financial advisor, Anthony Del Veccio, who worked for a Melbourne financial planning firm, Freedom Finance. Anthony said that Freedom Finance was seeking new clients to enter in some investments.

AIMEE MAZZA: We’d 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. We’d knew his parents, so we sort of thought, well, he seems trustworthy, we should trust him. We had no reason not to trust him.

STEVE CANNANE: Instead, Anthony Del Veccio was gambling away the Mazza’s investment. In April he was sentenced to 7 and a half years in jail for defrauding close to $4.5 million dollars from over 30 clients including family members.

ERTA RUBIN, ANTHONY DEL VECCHIO’S COUSIN: It’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.

STEVE CANNANE: While Del Vecchio was held accountable for his actions, the betting agencies got off scot-free. In sentencing Judge Cannon appeared incredulous about the behaviour of the betting agencies and the culture they operate in. The judge highlighted inducements offered to keep Del Vecchio betting. And said “there was never a time when any gambling service questioned your conduct”. She appeared shocked at the misery the betting agencies were inflicting on the community.

JUDGE GABRIELE CANNON, COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA: Such business practices by these betting companies embody the expression the banality of evil in my view and it is staggering that they are able to operate in our community in the ways that I’ve described with impunity.

NICK MAZZA: They are evil. Did they ask where it was coming from? Did they stop to even care where it was coming from? Enticing them to make numerous bets quite well, knowing that they’re going to lose, but with other people’s money.

STEVE CANNANE: The judge noted that around 8-10 betting agencies had offered Del Vecchio VIP services.

LAUREN LEVIN, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: VIP schemes are managed customer programs where there’s an individual who’s assigned to get their customer to bet more to keep on betting. They do that by offering what’s called inducements. People 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.

STEVE CANNANE: While Del Vecchio went to jail, the bookmakers kept the proceeds of his crimes.

NICK MAZZA: No other industry would be able to keep proceeds of crime. So why are they allowed to keep it? It’s not their money and I sure didn’t authorize them to have it. So, I want it back.

STEVE CANNANE: Kai Cantwell is the CEO of Responsible Wagering Australia an industry group that represents 6 betting companies, four of which Anthony Del Vecchio gambled with. Do you acknowledge the betting companies that you represent are profiting from criminal behaviour?

KAI CANTWELL: No.

STEVE CANNANE: Well Anthony Del Vecchio had net losses of three quarters of a million dollars with PointsBet who are one of your members. That’s money he stole from clients. You don’t consider that company now to be profiting from criminal behaviour.

KAI CANTWELL: There are, there are laws and rules, that apply to all businesses in Australia, and we follow the law of the of the country and law of Australia criminals need to be dealt with by the criminal justice system, and the victims, pursue those criminals through victims of crime.

ANDREW WILKIE, INDEPENDENT MP: Speaker, I present the Anti Money Laundering and Counter terrorism Financing amendment.

STEVE CANNANE: On three separate occasions Andrew Wilkie has tried to bring legislation to parliament that would force betting agencies to hand back stolen money.
ANDREW WILKIE: The bill will ensure that gambling entities are held accountable by preventing them profiting from illegal behaviour in particular.

STEVE CANNANE: Each time it’s been rejected.

ANDREW WILKIE: The fact that at the federal level three times the government and the opposition have failed to act proves to me that they continue to run a protection racket for the gambling industry. I think every reasonable Australian would say, if we know who’s got the money, that money should be returned to the victims.

NICK MAZZA: I’ve never seen anything like this.

STEVE CANNANE: For the first time Aimee and Nick are looking at the list from the forensic report that details Del Vecchio’s losses with 52 separate betting agencies.

NICK MAZZA: That is just mind blowing how anyone can be able to spend that much money without any questions. I just can’t believe it.

STEVE CANNANE: At the top of the list a betting site called MintBet.

NICK MAZZA: He’s lost a total of one over 1 million to MintBet that they still have in their possession.

COMMENTATOR: There they go and they’re off.

HOST: Joined by a very familiar face in the picnic racing bookies ringing Casey McCutcheon, also known as the MintBet Man.

STEVE CANNANE: MintBet is run by third generation bookmaker Casey McCutcheon

CASEY McCUTCHEON: My old man’s a bookie in the big smoke.

STEVE CANNANE: When I rang him, he wasn’t keen to talk. Did you ask for proof of income when Del Vecchio gambled with you? Okay. He’s hung up on me. I tried to catch him outside the Backing the Punt Conference in Melbourne. Casey, how are you Steve Cannane from Four Corners – how are you can I talk to you? Casey McCutcheon is the Director and ultimate shareholder of MintBet. He’s also its risk and compliance officer – which means it was up to him to do due diligence on big-spending customers like Del Vecchio – while also profiting from them. Later that night we got word that Casey McCutcheon was about to turn up at a betting industry function in Melbourne’s Post Office Lane.

STEVE CANNANE: Casey, Nick and Amy Mazza say you’ve got their money – what would you say to them? They say you got their proceeds of crime. You’re the risk and compliance manager aren’t you with MintBet? Doesn’t that mean you should’ve checked whether he could’ve gambled that amount of money? Is there a conflict of interest being the risk and compliance manager.

AIMEE MAZZA: If I saw Casey McCutcheon, I would just say, I do not know how you get up every morning and think that what you’re doing is okay. I don’t know how you sleep at night. You’re living on our money.

STEVE CANNANE: Why wasn’t anyone asking Del Vecchio how much he was being paid and whether he had the money to lose four and a half million dollars?

KAI CANTWELL: We have a significant role in identifying problematic behaviour, whether it’s criminal or whether its problem gambling and we report those to the authorities and of course we intervene where someone has, uh, is exhibiting problem gambling behaviours.

STEVE CANNANE: But it’s clearly not worked in this instance.

KAI CANTWELL: Look, those, those, uh, problem gambling and criminal type red flags that, that go off in our system, we are improving every day.

ANDREW WILKIE: it is basically the wild west of business in this country. I’d be hard pressed to think of any other business sector in Australia that is so weekly regulated, so weakly overseen.

STEVE CANNANE: The location for the main regulator for online betting might surprise many Australians. I’ve come to Darwin – the sports betting epicentre of Australia — a place where over 40 online bookmakers are licensed. Companies that are worth over $50 billion a year in turnover. I’m here to find out more about the part time regulator that oversees all the big betting companies – the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission and try and talk to its chair Alastair Shields who seems like he’s avoiding me. The big betting agencies have been drawn to Darwin because they pay minimal tax here and they face minimal regulation as well.

LAUREN LEVIN, CONSUMER ADVOCATE: It was the Northern Territory’s industry strategy to grow the racing and betting industry as a source of revenue for the Northern Territory. They lured operators there to become the jurisdiction of choice for the gambling industry.

ANDREW WILKIE: In the Northern Territory, it’s the weakest regulation, it’s the lowest tax and it’s the most useless regulator. I mean, I’d liken the regulator up there to one of those so-called chocolate teapots. It’s useless.

STEVE CANNANE: The regulator has no full-time staff, relying on support from Licensing NT, and has not released an annual report since 1993.

LAUREN LEVIN: How do you run a regulator for the country that’s got the highest per capita gambling losses in the world without full-time staff? If you compare it to, say, the UK Gambling Commission, it’s got over 300 staff.

STEVE CANNANE: The NT Racing and Wagering commission meets once a month and has six part time commissioners. The regulator has been accused of being too close to industry – earlier this year its chair Alastair Shields admitted to taking gifts from bookmakers.

JACK HISLOP, ABC DARWIN: So you do take gifts from corporate bookmakers at things like the Darwin cup?

ALASTAIR SHIELDS: I have in the past attended the Darwin Cup as a guest.

JACK HISLOP: Of bookmakers.

ALASTAIR SHIELDS: Yes.

STEVE CANNANE: Alastair Shields has led the Commission for the past 7 years. He’s refused repeated requests by Four Corners for an interview. Alastair, Steve Cannane from Four Corners – how are you?

ALASTAIR SHIELDS: Good thanks, Steve. Good to see you.

STEVE CANNANE: Is there any reason why we can’t talk to you for Four Corners?

ALASTAIR SHIELDS: I’m sorry I’m heading to a commission meeting now.

STEVE CANNANE: Can we talk to you afterwards?

ALASTAIR SHIELDS: I think we’ve already answered that.

STEVE CANNANE: Can you tell us have you taken any corporate hospitality from the sports betting industry lately? And if so how often? Can we talk to you after the meeting? How long does the meeting go for? Can you tell us how many hours you spend at the regulator here?
Christopher Walsh is the editor of the NT Independent. He can’t understand how Alastair Shields finds the time to regulate Australia’s biggest betting companies. How many jobs does Alastair Shields have?

CHRISTOPHER WALSH: Well, many, a lot, and we’re not even entirely sure. From what we can tell, he has at least nine positions on different boards and commissions in different roles as chair, mostly deputy chair member, it’s extraordinary.

STEVE CANNANE: That doesn’t leave much time to be the chair of the regulator overseeing betting agencies with an annual turnover of $50 billion plus.

CHRISTOPHER WALSH: Yeah. Now look, I don’t know how he does it. I mean, he is also the chief Executive officer of the Darwin Waterfront Corporation, and what is he, the chair of the Australasia Railway Corporation at the same time. And on top of that being Chair of Racing and Wager Commission, he is also a member of the Racing Appeals Tribunal. He’s also the director of Greyhounds Australasia.

STEVE CANNANE: Many of those responsible for regulating Australia’s online bookmakers have had close ties to the industry. Four Corners has discovered that six out of the past 10 commissioners have owned racehorses at various times, including Alastair Shields and Ian Curnow.

STEVE CANNANE: Ian can I ask you still own a racehorse or a share in a racehorse.

IAN CURNOW: No, no comment.

STEVE CANNANE: Is it appropriate that people who are regulating the industry have shares in racehorses?

IAN CURNOW: I think the criteria in the act for the selection of duties speaks for itself and you should talk to the minister who appoints people as commissioners around their eligibility –

STEVE CANNANE: Six 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?

IAN CURNOW: No comment.

STEVE CANNANE: Commissioners used to be banned from owning racehorses but by 1996 that clause had been removed from the Territory’s Racing and Betting Act.
Former commissioner Amy Corcoran also owned racehorses and declared that her husband owned a share of a horse with Matt Tripp, one of the pioneers of online betting in Australia. However, she did not recuse herself from matters involving Matt Tripp’s betting agencies. In a statement, she said.

AMY CORCORAN STATEMENT: My husband has never met or had any communication with Mr Tripp, either during that period of syndicate ownership or since.

STEVE CANNANE: After leaving the commission Amy Corcoran joined betting agency Dabble.
When we asked the Commission about conflicts of interest, a spokesperson said: The Department of Tourism and Hospitality will be reviewing the management of potential conflicts of interest within the Racing and Wagering Commission. And, that under the Racing and Wagering Act, Commissioners are supposed to have knowledge or experience in the racing or online gambling industries. Critics accuse the Commission of favouring the industry. Four Corners’ analysis of over 170 published decisions shows two thirds of them found no breach against the betting agencies. Lauren Levin believes the regulator is too close to industry. And says she saw evidence of it at wagering forums in 2022 and 2023.

LAUREN LEVIN: I heard Alistair Shields proudly say to the industry participants and that two of their commissioners owned racehorses. And it was said in the context of, we welcome you guys. We like the industry. I heard Phil Timney talk. He was the executive director of the department that oversees the racing Commission. He said, we’ve never cancelled a license. We can, but we never have. He said, we are unashamedly the racing and gambling jurisdiction and are open for business.

STEVE CANNANE: Four Corners has confirmed the Northern Territory Racing and Wagering Commission has never cancelled a licence due to disciplinary action. Philip Timney told Four Corners, “I have no interest in talking to the media”. When you look at the cases that have appeared before the commission, you really get a sense of how the betting agencies are rarely held to account. It was here in Darwin at the NT Racing Commission in April 2021 that a contentious hearing was about to be held involving a former professional footballer who had been enticed to open an account with Beteasy under his wife’s name. It was a case that exposed the predatory practises of the industry and the inadequacies of the regulator in dealing with them. The man at the centre of this case – who we’re calling Dave – was known to Beteasy as an out-of-control gambler, who didn’t want to punt anymore after losing over $200,000 in one day. Dave has signed a non-disclosure agreement. Jason Munstermann is his lawyer.

JASON MUNSTERMANN, LAWYER: At the end of the day, he had the good sense to close his account and had himself listed with Beteasy as a self-excluded gambler, which meant that from there on he couldn’t open accounts or place any bets with Betasy and he also was not to be contacted by them any further.

STEVE CANNANE: A year later, Dave was contacted by a Beteasy affiliate John Dow Junior and encouraged to open an account under his wife’s name.

JASON MUNSTERMANN: So affiliates ultimately are motivated to find people like Dave and encourage him to bet because they receive a commission based on the value of the bets that they place. In this case, the affiliate was John Dow and he was a relative of Matt Tripp, a significant shareholder and CEO of Beteasy.

STEVE CANNANE: At the time, Dave was in a vulnerable state with two children in hospital.

JASON MUNSTERMANN: in total, he lost over $700,000 really on a couple of days of betting.

STEVE CANNANE: Jason Munstermann helped Dave bring a case against BetEasy at the Northern Territory Racing Commission.

JASON MUNSTERMANN: What we found was the commission had very limited powers to be able to compel people to produce documents or to actually attend before the commission. And the hearings were not conducted with a level of professionalism and rigor that I would’ve anticipated.

STEVE CANNANE: The commission found that Beteasy breached two conditions of its licence by not complying with the responsible gaming code on multiple occasions and by having a “blatant disregard” of its own terms and conditions. It described Beteasy’s failures as extremely serious but chose not to suspend its licence. Matt Tripp declined to comment. John Dow Junior did not respond.

JASON MUNSTERMANN: The ultimate punishment handed out to Beteasy was the total of fines in the order of $50,000, and the affiliate we understand received in the order of 200,000 in commissions and there was nothing, no clawing back or fines imposed on the affiliate at all.

STEVE CANNANE: So it’s not exactly a disincentive to prevent that kind of behavior?

JASON MUNSTERMANN: Not at all.

STEVE CANNANE: The online betting industry claims the regulator is doing its job.

KAI CANTWELL: There’s this misconception out there that they are not a robust regulator. They certainly are. They certainly have strong consumer protections and a strong understanding of the online environment in which we operate.

STEVE CANNANE: It’s 230 in the afternoon, and the NT Racing’s and Wagering Commission has clocked off after its monthly meeting.

STEVE CANNANE: Hi Alastair, meeting’s over can you talk to us now? Is that a no? Can I ask you why its sometimes taking 3-4 years to hear people’s complaints? Can I also ask you when Amy Corcoran was a commissioner – her husband owned a horse with Matt Tripp why did she not recuse herself from those hearings can you tell us that? I wanted to find out if other gambling regulators around the world operate like this. I tracked down Anders Dorph, the regulator in Denmark.

ANDERS DORPH, DIRECTOR, DANISH GAMBLING AUTHORITY: The Danish gambling authority has 150 employees and we have a budget around 13 million euros.

STEVE CANNANE: How do you make sure the people regulating the industry in Denmark are at arm’s length from the industry?

ANDERS DORPH: We are not allowed to have any, any conflict of interest with the operators of course. In Denmark, we cannot take corporate hospitality from a bookmaker.

STEVE CANNANE: Anders says his regulator makes sure the betting agencies honour their duty of care to customers and strictly monitor their betting behaviour.

ANDERS DORPH: Online betting operators has to comply with the rules and the duty of care. And within these rules you have to follow the pattern of the gambler and make sure they don’t gamble too much. They have to show their pay package and how their financial situation looks like. And then if it’s sound, it can go on. But if it’s not sound, they have to limit the gambler or exclude the gambler.

STEVE CANNANE: A legend of Australian sport touches down in Canberra. He’s here to urge the government to act on gambling reforms.

USMAN KHAWAJA, AUSTRALIAN TEST CRICKETER: I’ve been a part of sport a long time. I’ve seen gambling ruin a lot of lives. But the fact that we’re advertising it every day during sporting events, during sporting games is desensitizing these kids and normalizing it and that’s why I’m here. I think we have a responsibility not to do that, particularly to our younger generation.

DAVID POCOCK, INDEPENDENT SENATOR FOR THE ACT: How’s things? Nice to meet ya.

USMAN KHAWAJA: You too.

STEVE CANNANE: Test cricketer Usman Khawaja is joining forces with former Wallaby captain senator David Pocock to push for a ban on gambling advertising.

SENATOR DAVID POCOCK: It’s like 75% of teenagers now think that betting is just a normal part of watching sport.

USMAN KHAWAJA: And anecdotally, that’s exactly what I saw.

SENATOR DAVID POCOCK: What’s sport for? Is it to be able to flog off a harmful product for industries to be able to advertise or what is always it about community and learning life skills?

COMMENTATOR: Welcome along to viewers all around the world…

STEVE CANNANE: As an Australian Test cricketer Usman Khawaja can’t avoid gambling advertising. Each time you go out to bat in a test match in Australia, you step over a boundary rope with BET 365 on it. How do you feel when you do that?

USMAN KHAWAJA: Yeah, I don’t love it. To be honest, I’ve brought this up with the Australian Cricketers Association. We’re Australia’s national sport. We are cricket we’re the biggest sport in the country. I think we have a responsibility to lead the way.

STEVE CANNANE: Cricket is less reliant on gambling money than the big football codes and unlike the NRL and the AFL – its leadership is not lobbying against an ad ban. The sporting codes are saying if you get rid of the gambling advertising revenue, it’s going to affect the grassroots. What do you say to that?

USMAN KHAWAJA: Rubbish, absolute rubbish. I mean, people in Australia love sport. They were playing sport when they weren’t getting paid peanuts. We still love sport. We still play sport. It’s a cop out.

PETA MURPHY: On behalf of the standing committee on social and legal affairs.

STEVE CANNANE: Much of the impetus to ban gambling advertising came from a Labor backbencher who was an elite athlete herself.

PETA MURPHY: We know that online gambling companies advertise so much in Australia because advertising works.

STEVE CANNANE: Peta Murphy chaired the cross parliamentary committee that released a groundbreaking review into online gambling over two years ago.

PETA MURPHY: We heard evidence about the way that gambling advertising also grooms children and young people to gamble and encourages riskier behaviour.

KATE CHANEY, INDEPENDENT MP & COMMITTEE MEMBER: One of the things I loved about it, this committee had representation from all across the political spectrum and we’re all there to solve this problem that we all really cared about. All the people on that committee were seeing the social harms that it was causing in their own communities.

STEVE CANNANE: The committee made 31 recommendations including banning gambling advertising, bringing in a national regulator and banning inducements and commissions. Five months after tabling this report Peta Murphy died from cancer.

ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER: A short time ago Peta Murphy passed away at home which was her wish. She helped lead the charge for important reforms like reducing the harm from online gambling because she understood the greatest privilege of public life is to make a difference.

KATE CHANEY: I’m really furious about the lack of action on this report. It’s now more than two years, and not only have they not implemented any recommendations, they haven’t even responded. And people on both sides of parliament have said to me, you’ve got to keep it up. It’s hard for me to talk about this within my party.

STEVE CANNANE: What’s stopping the government from acting?

KATE CHANEY: The barrier to the government acting here is money and power and gambling companies donate millions of dollars to political parties. They don’t want to see any change. Sporting codes get multiple revenue streams from gambling ads and they don’t want to see this change. And broadcast media make a huge amount of money from these ads. They don’t want this to change.

STEVE CANNANE: Kai Cantwell is one of the lobbyists pushing against key recommendations of the Murphy review such as a total ban on advertising – he’s often seen at parliament house…and parliamentary football games.Why doesn’t the industry support a total ban?

KAI CANTWELL: Because total bans, won’t be effective. Total bans will simply drive Australian consumers into the illegal offshore market, uh, where there are no consumer protections.

STEVE CANNANE: What’s the, what’s the evidence of that?

KAI CANTWELL: Uh, we’ve seen evidence, internationally, so we’ve seen, evidence in Norway, Denmark, Sweden. There is a swathe of, uh, evidence across the world that says that overregulation drives people into the illegal offshore market.

STEVE CANNANE: But the regulators from those three countries say that’s not true.

ANDERS DORPH: No. The restrictions in 2020 didn’t lead to a bigger offshore market.

STEVE CANNANE: Regulatory bodies in Norway and Sweden have also told Four Corners that illegal offshore betting has been decreasing in their countries.

LAUREN LEVIN: Whenever any government wants to regulate the gambling industry, they say, oh, everyone’s going to go offshore and they’re unregulated. The bank figures show that it’s just a really small percentage who are going overseas. I think the industry overstates that.

STEVE CANNANE: But that hasn’t stopped the prime minister from using similar rhetoric.

CLAUDIA LONG, ABC CANBERRA, PARLIAMENT HOUSE: What’s in your mind preventing this action?

ANTHONY ALBANESE: What’s in our mind is practicalities of whether people just go offshore, then there’s no revenue at all. They engage in gambling with no revenue coming back at all. And it doesn’t solve the problem. I thank the member of Warringah for her question.

STEVE CANNANE: There were further eyebrows raised when the prime minister suggested lotteries were causing more harm that online betting.

ANTHONY ALBANESE: More than around 15 per cent off the top of my head – it’s about that figure comes from lotteries and lotto and those tickets as well. I’m yet to see anyone stand up in this place and advocate banning completely all advertising of lottery and lotto tickets.

SENATOR DAVID POCOCK: I’ve tried to dig into this at estimates where you asked the department, where did these stats come from? No one knows. No one has any idea… and the only two people who’ve said them publicly are Peter V’landys and the Prime Minister, and that’s a real worry.

STEVE CANNANE: NRL Chairman Peter V’landys is one of the fiercest critics of an ad ban. Records of the Prime Ministers’ diaries show he has had official meetings with Anthony Albanese at least three times since Peta Murphy’s report was handed down. Peter V’landys, who is also CEO of Racing NSW, is credited with bringing big money into the NRL from the gambling companies. Former NRL executives have told Four Corners the game and its clubs now make close to $100 million a year from gambling sponsorships and product fees. Peter V’landys has described a proposed ad ban as “nanny state ideology.” The prime minister was not available for interview, and his office did not provide answers to a list of questions. From inside prison, Gavin Fineff has written to the Prime Minister asking him to reign in the gambling companies. Why are you talking to Four Corners?

GAVIN FINEFF, FORMER GAMBLER: I care about reducing harm, Steve. I’ve caused a lot of it myself. I experienced a lot of it myself. I’ve seen the harm to families and everyone around me, and I’ve got a 12-year-old and a 10-year-old. I’m speaking because the only way to make sense of all that harm is to do something about it.

STEVE CANNANE: A former financial planner, Gavin Fineff is serving a 9-year sentence for defrauding over $3 million from clients – to fund his gambling addiction. He spoke to Peta Murphy’s parliamentary inquiry in 2023 and says the government should act now on three key recommendations.

GAVIN FINEFF: They must cancel inducements immediately. If they want to offer a marketing effort to customers then offer better odds. Cancel commissions. That’s obvious that if staff receive more money based on customers losing more money, then that smells straight away and cancel advertising.

GAVIN FINEFF’S MOTHER: Hey son..

GAVIN FINEFF: Hey Mum..

GAVIN’S MOTHER: Can you hear me?

STEVE CANNANE: I first met Gavin Fineff 5 years ago, before he had been arrested. His out-of-control gambling – which destroyed the lives of others – had been fuelled by VIP inducements.

GAVIN FINEFF: Yeah, it’s pretty bad.

NATALIJA NIKOLIC, LAWYER: The VIP managers play a crucial role in inducing consumers to open accounts and also inducing them to continue gambling. They usually have a direct line of communication. They’re usually chatting to them on the mobile phone and establishing rapport, building a friendship.

STEVE CANNANE: Gavin Fineff says he lost $3.9 million with Tabcorp before they first asked for proof of income – it was only after that that his account was closed. Then out of the blue he got calls from VIP managers at Ladbrokes and BetEasy who knew of his gambling history.

GAVIN FINEFF: I didn’t know these two guys. I was approached, offered quite a bit of money to open an account with them and you put $50,000 in front of an addict, especially one that owes nearly $4 million, I’m going to say yes.

STEVE CANNANE: The more inducements he was offered, the more he misappropriated funds from clients to get deposit matches – hoping he could claw back his losses.

GAVIN FINEFF: I was given the 50,000, I lost it in 40 minutes. I got another 50,000 the next day. They gave me a million dollars in about two months. Those last two gambling companies gave me combined $3.5 million worth of free betting money. And I lost 4.4 million and that happened in 18 months.

STEVE CANNANE: The Northern Territory Racing Commission investigated both Ladbrokes and BetEasy and fined both companies.

NATALIJA NIKOLIC: In the example of Ladbrokes, the profit from Gavin was $750,000. The fine that they received was $78,000. Beteasy made. 3.6 million in profit from Gavin from his betting activity. Their fine was just shy of $80,000. What kind of disincentive is that penalty?

STEVE CANNANE: Natalija Nikolic believes the NT Racing Commission failed not just Gavin, but the public.

NATALIJA NIKOLIC: You have systematic failures to ask basic questions about the source of funds that he was gambling with. You have VIP managers that are inducing his betting activity, and the NTRC did not think that this was significant enough for them to either say that the bets were unlawful or make any changes to the licensing conditions that these operators were able to operate under.

STEVE CANNANE: Another regulator is dialling up the pressure on the betting agencies. AUSTRAC has launched legal proceedings against online gambling giant Entain – who runs Ladbrokes and Neds. It’s bombshell statement of claim identifies the staggering degree to which betting agencies rely on VIP customers.

BRENDAN THOMAS, CEO AUSTRAC: We do know the top 2% of their customers brought in 65% of their revenue. And that really is a concern when any business is reliant on a small number of customers for a significant amount of its revenue.

STEVE CANNANE: Former betting industry insiders have told Four Corners they are incentivised to prey on this small minority of high value gamblers. We’ve been told of weekly emails sent to VIP managers urging them to target certain customers with bonus bets… Emails with graphs and spreadsheets of which punters are up and which punters are down – like a form guide on who to target. And we’ve been told that some VIP managers to make more money than company executives with some boasting of making half a million dollars in commissions during the spring racing carnival.

KATE CHANEY: I’m horrified that this industry can continue to operate in this way with impunity and we just turn a blind eye to it.

STEVE CANNANE: Do you think VIP schemes are harmful at all?

KAI CANTWELL No.

STEVE CANNANE: Well, if they’re not harmful, why did the betting agencies in UK agree to restrict VIP schemes?

KAI CANTWELL: Well, I won’t provide commentary on what’s happening in the UK, but what I will say is VIP customers are treated exactly the same with regard to consumer protections.

LAUREN LEVIN: Kai Cantwell is wrong. VIP programs are hugely harmful. And other regulators overseas have recognized that.

STEVE CANNANE: AUSTRAC alleges Entain, the parent company of Ladbrokes and Neds, failed to comply with Australia’s anti-money laundering laws. The problem was its VIP programs. AUSTRAC alleges the company was not doing proper checks on 17 of its most lucrative VIP customers.

BRENDAN THOMAS: Well, our statement of claim identifies those 17 clients and they’ve gambled more than a hundred million dollars through that business. So that shows the volume of money a small number of people can churn through in a relatively short period of time.

STEVE CANNANE: When VIP gamblers lose, their VIP managers win big from commissions. The Murphy review recommended abolishing these commissions. And now AUSTRAC has identified them as a conflict of interest.

BRENDAN THOMAS: Well, it encourages a greater amount of gambling and it encourages potentially perverse behaviour where people might be encouraged to turn a blind eye to what might be illicit behaviour. And we’ve certainly seen that numerous times in gambling businesses in Australia.

STEVE CANNANE: Despite all of these concerns, the industry continues to pay commissions on gamblers’ losses. Do you think they’re a conflict of interest?

KAI CANTWELL: Uh, no.

STEVE CANNANE: AUSTRAC says they are. Australia’s anti-money laundering regulator says these commissions are a conflict of interest. Do you disagree with AUSTRAC on this?

KAI CANTWELL: I think it’s a challenging topic, but as I say, it’s largely a practise that is on its way out in Australia.

STEVE CANNANE: In a statement, Entain said they have fully cooperated with AUSTRAC and made significant changes to their leadership and governance, as well as increasing resources for compliance and safer gambling. Gavin Fineff was targeted as a VIP customer by three different betting agencies. He wants policy makers to understand how vulnerable people with a gambling disorder are to the tactics of VIP managers.

GAVIN FINEFF: The overwhelming feeling is just this chasing rage, this tightening of the chest. It was just an energy that would come up in you and just have the effect of narrowing everything into doing what needs to be done to chase the losses. And you believe that you can do it. Otherwise why would I keep doing it?

STEVE CANNANE: At parliament house, Usman Khawaja and David Pocock have joined a roundtable on gambling harm.

USMAN KHAWAJA: Once we normalise gambling, it’s so hard to come back from that.

STEVE CANNANE: Kate, who doesn’t want to be identified, lost her brother to suicide. She is about to address the room via videolink.

KATE: What does it look like for someone to lose $10,000 a year to the gambling industry. This is exactly the burden that our 24-year-old brother was carrying six days before he ended his life. On this particular day he walked into the kitchen with pain all over his face and I could tell something was wrong, so I prompted him, you okay? He could barely find the words, but he did need to borrow $10,000. Six days later, my dad’s sister and I found him 500 metres from our childhood home. The sound dad made, the look on my sister’s face.. haunts me every moment of every day. He had stated in his suicide note: I’m so disgusted and revolted with myself that I want to end my life before my addiction ruins more people around me. The final straw was continuing to receive inducements from Sportsbet after he had self-excluded, he felt that he had no way out.

STEVE CANNANE: Tim Costello says he told the prime minister about Kate’s brother suicide and urged him to talk to the family.

KATE: This year I have written nine times to various ministers seeking a meeting about gambling harm. Tim Costello said to the Prime Minister he should contact people with lived experience to understand gambling harm. I waited for that opportunity, but I never heard from him.

SENATOR DAVID POCOCK: As elected representatives. We are here to work for people. We’re not here to do the bidding of the gambling industry or Peter Vlandys and the NRL. We have to put people and communities ahead of vested interests. And I think this is a perfect example of what happens when vested interests apply pressure. You see currently the Labor government capitulating.

STEVE CANNANE: Anika Wells is the minister in charge of the responding to the recommendation to ban advertising – she was also a close friend of Peta Murphy’s. Like the prime minister, she was unavailable for interview. So we turned up at a doorstop she did in Sydney last week. For weeks Four Corners has been trying to get an interview with you about the government’s inaction on the Murphy review and the 31 recommendations. It’s now nearly two and a half years since that report was released by your friend. Why has the government not acted on that yet?

ANIKA WELLS, FEDERAL MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATION AND SPORT: Hi Steve, I believe we spoke briefly in parliament a few weeks ago. The work continues, it’s important work I continue to talk to and engage with stakeholders about how we plot a path through to deliver some important reforms.

STEVE CANNANE: Is it the prime minister who’s blocking this?

ANIKA WELLS: The work continues. There is no blockage. It’s complex work and if it was easy to have been completed, we would’ve completed it already. However, the work continues, it’s important and I’m grateful to be doing it.

STEVE CANNANE: And what did you think of Peter Murphy’s response. In the next few months, the Albanese government will be under pressure to respond to Peta Murphy’s review.

ANDREW WILKIE: I have a high regard for Anthony Albanese. By the way, I think he’s a man of integrity, but in this regard, this is a shocking failure. This failure to move quickly to implement all or most of the Peta Murphy report recommendations.

KATE CHANEY: I think many of her colleagues would be pretty sad and disappointed and would feel like that’s not really doing an honour to the legacy that she was hoping to leave and that she deserved to leave.

STEVE CANNANE: Months before she died Peta Murphy was hopeful the government would act on her report – it remains to be seen whether she had cause to be optimistic.

PETA MURPHY: I am positive that we will see a very strong response from the government – they understand I know that Australians want to see some change, so I think it will make a big difference to their lives – thank you thank you very much.