{"id":231838,"date":"2025-10-22T06:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/231838\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T06:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:54:17","slug":"nt-politicians-call-for-inquiry-into-australias-de-facto-online-gambling-regulator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/231838\/","title":{"rendered":"NT politicians call for inquiry into Australia’s de facto online gambling regulator"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Territory crossbenchers have called for the government to establish a parliamentary inquiry into laws governing Australia’s controversial de facto online gambling regulator.<\/p>\n

The NT is the home of Australia’s $50 billion online gambling industry, with 43 corporate bookmakers basing themselves in the jurisdiction for its low taxes.<\/p>\n

It means the NT Racing and Wagering Commission (NTRWC) is responsible for overseeing the companies and acts as regulator for the industry nationwide.<\/p>\n

A recent Four Corners investigation<\/a> found the NTRWC meets once a month, has no full-time staff and, until last week, had not released an annual report since 1993.<\/p>\n

The part-time watchdog for Australia\u2019s $50 billion betting industry <\/a><\/p>\n

Four Corners has uncovered allegations of conflicts of interest and pro-industry bias at the country’s part-time regulator responsible for Australia’s biggest betting companies.<\/p>\n

It also uncovered years-long delays by the NTRWC in resolving complaints and found it had insufficient powers to adequately investigate betting operators, which often led to feeble penalties.<\/p>\n

In NT parliament on Tuesday night, Darwin-based independent Justine Davis called on Attorney-General Marie-Clare Boothby to refer the the territory’s Racing and Wagering Act to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee (LCAC) for scrutiny.<\/p>\n

The act provides the NTRWC with its powers and functions, and sets standards for its commissioners.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Independent MLA Justine Davis moved the matter in parliament this week. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)<\/p>\n

“If a commission, whose chair accepts hospitality from bookmakers and maintains betting accounts … [and] that has never cancelled a [bookmaker] licence \u2014 despite numerous breaches \u2014 is working well within its act, then the act itself has a problem,” Ms Davis said.<\/p>\n

“The NTRWC was never built to be a national regulator, and it cannot act as one.”Attorney-general calls for ‘proof’<\/p>\n

The day after the Four Corners report aired on October 7, the NT government claimed it was reviewing conflict-of-interest allegations<\/a> raised against NTRWC members.<\/p>\n

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In Parliament on Wednesday, Ms Boothby said if people had evidence “of any real claims and you’ve got proof, then give it to the right body to investigate”.<\/p>\n

“It’s not about just online claims or standing up in parliament and accusing different people of different things,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Put the evidence forward to the groups so that we can, if there [are] problems, we can fix [them].”<\/p>\n

The architect of the Racing and Wagering Act, former Labor racing minister Chansey Paech, supported the LCAC referral along with the Greens’s Kat McNamara and independent Yi\u014biya Guyula.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Chansey Paech welcomed the possibility of the legislation being referred for scrutiny. (ABC News: Pete Garnish)<\/p>\n

What the commission’s first report since 1993 shows\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last week the NTRWC released its first annual report since 1993 \u2014 a new requirement under the act introduced by Labor last year.<\/p>\n

It showed the NT’s licensed bookmakers had 10.1 million customers in 2024-25 and accepted 1.8 billion bets.<\/p>\n

The total turnover of the territory’s bookmakers was $42.4 billion with a “tax revenue” of $18.8 million and the annual report attributed 749 “territory jobs” to the industry.<\/p>\n

The report also disclosed the NTRWC received 562 complaints in 2024-25 and finalised 478 of those, with 118 “ongoing complaints” still before the commission.<\/p>\n

Across the financial year, the NTRWC “disciplined” bookmakers 19 times, including issuing fines in 12 cases, totalling $300,000.<\/p>\n

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As well as regulating online bookmakers, the NTRWC is also the territory’s greyhound industry watchdog.<\/p>\n

Despite not having any full-time staff, the NTRWC spent $1 million on “employee remuneration”, which a spokesperson said was used to cover the wages of its director of racing and wagering and its inspectors.<\/p>\n

Commission members were paid a combined $376,000, while $91,000 was spent on “consultancy work” and $25,000 on “travel expenses”.<\/p>\n

Data shows Australians lose more than $25 billion a year<\/a> on legal forms of gambling.<\/p>\n

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