{"id":579123,"date":"2026-04-01T19:02:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579123\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T19:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T19:02:16","slug":"liquor-and-gaming-nsw-investigates-wests-tigers-owners-over-debenture-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579123\/","title":{"rendered":"Liquor and Gaming NSW investigates Wests Tigers owners over debenture system"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ChrisSave<\/p>\n

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The owner of Wests Tigers is facing a fresh investigation into a decades-old system that gives 20 people effective control of a $100 million leagues club operation and the NRL joint venture.<\/p>\n

The Holman Barnes Group has a 90 per cent stake in the Tigers and holds the balance of power on the NRL team\u2019s board, as well as running the Wests Ashfield club.<\/p>\n

\"HolmanHolman Barnes Group owns Wests Ashfield and Wests Tigers.Matt Willis\/Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n

It has been plagued by internal strife during the past 18 months<\/a>, with four directors axed and banned for a combined 23 years at the poker machine empire.<\/p>\n

HBG was cleared by Liquor and Gaming NSW in July after an initial probe into a complaint of board misconduct and governance failures at the organisation, which was formerly known as Western Suburbs Leagues Club.<\/p>\n

However, the state\u2019s clubs regulator said it was investigating again.<\/p>\n

\u201cLiquor and Gaming NSW is looking into complaints between December 2025 and January 2026 about the Western Suburbs Leagues Club,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"HBGHBG chairman Dennis Burgess (right) pictured with former director Tony Andreacchio in 2021.Edwina Pickles<\/p>\n

\u201cThese complaints relate to the operation of a debenture system and the club\u2019s compliance with the Registered Clubs Act 1976.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs these inquiries are ongoing, no further comment can be made at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

A HBG spokesperson said it had \u201ccomplied with all requests from Liquor and Gaming NSW dating back to late 2024, providing detailed responses and supporting information to their satisfaction\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were informed last year that there was no further action to be taken at the time,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny subsequent complaints appear to be an extension of the scope of the original complaints, and we will be treating those in full co-operation with the regulator. We take all such matters with utmost professional compliance and will act in accordance with all regulatory requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n

HBG is believed to be the only registered club in NSW to continue to operate such a system, in which five of seven board positions must be filled by 20 so-called debenture holders and the club\u2019s 28,500 members can only vote on the remaining two spots.<\/p>\n

The system originated in 1955 with founding members issued with debentures in return for providing $100 each to get the club off the ground.<\/a><\/p>\n

The debentures are non-transferrable. HBG said they could not be assigned, sold or passed on, including to a relative after a holder\u2019s death, and vacancies were filled by a process in which candidates were considered by a selection committee and the board had final approval. The selection committee is appointed by the board.<\/p>\n

Liquor and Gaming NSW last year found the debenture system \u201cto be lawful and not to confer any unlawful or undue advantage to members\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson (left) pictured with Tigers chairman Barry O\u2019Farrell and independent director Michelle McDowell.Steven Siewert<\/p>\n

But it is under the microscope again following a year of upheaval in 2025 in which HBG chair Julie Romero was ousted in a boardroom coup and long-time chief executive Simon Cook also departed.<\/p>\n

In December, HBG then axed Tigers chairman Barry O\u2019Farrell and three other Tigers independent directors<\/a>, who had been installed after a governance review and had held the majority on the board.<\/p>\n

HBG cited inadequate communication as their reason for intervening<\/a> before reinstating the independent directors at the request of the NRL.<\/p>\n

But HBG\u2019s representation on the board was increased, ensuring it has the numbers to call the shots despite former NSW premier O\u2019Farrell being chairman.<\/p>\n

According to corporate records only two of the independents \u2013 O\u2019Farrell and Michelle McDowell \u2013 still sit on what is now an eight-member Tigers board.<\/p>\n

Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson, who had delivered the club\u2019s first profit in a decade, quit in response to the board shake-up<\/a>, walking away with a seven-figure payout after just 18 months of a four-year contract.<\/p>\n

HBG also settled late last year with former director Rick Wayde after he brought Supreme Court action against it.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Dennis<\/a><\/p>\n

Asked about the cost of legal fees and payouts during the past year, the HBG spokesperson said it \u201cdoes not publicly disclose commercially sensitive information, including legal costs or employment-related payments, unless required to do so under applicable law or regulatory obligations, which in this case it is not required to do so\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Tigers in December also extended the contract of head coach Benji Marshall until the end of 2030.<\/a><\/p>\n

Marshall\u2019s Tigers have begun the season impressively, defeating the high-flying New Zealand Warriors in Auckland last Friday to rise to third place before their Easter Monday contest against Parramatta at CommBank Stadium.<\/p>\n

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\"ChrisChris Barrett<\/a> is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-579123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}