A former professional rugby league player has told a Senate committee that Australian betting firms used lavish hospitality, travel and illicit drugs to keep him gambling. The claims are his own testimony. The source material does not name any company, and it reports no response from any operator.
Luke Bateman, a former Canberra Raiders forward, gave evidence on Monday 3 August to the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee. According to Casino.org's report, he said bookmakers kept him betting on horse races and National Rugby League matches.
What Bateman told the committee
Bateman said he was offered free alcohol and travel, bonus bet inducements, escorts and illegal drugs. He described being flown interstate to race days and placed in marquees with food and alcohol provided all day.
"Before getting there, the VIP manager would ask, 'Hey mate, what drugs do you want? Do you want a couple of bags for this weekend?'" – Luke Bateman, testifying to the Senate committee
He said there was an understanding that, in return for the travel and perks, he would bet only with that firm during the trip.
Pressed on whether he was courted only by his betting host, Bateman said company executives were involved. He described a trip to the Gold Coast where, he said, senior management, founders and VIP managers used drugs together in a backroom, and that he joined them. Casino.org reported that he did not name names and that he was supposedly among several bookmakers' top customers.
Bateman did not place all the blame on the industry. "I was a willing participant. I put my hand up," he said, adding that the men involved held positions of power and that there was "absolutely zero duty of care". He said he was 21 at the time and described himself as very young and vulnerable. Casino.org reports that he is now a social media book reviewer and has a deal for an autobiography about his gambling addiction.
The political context
The hearing comes as the Labor government weighs a contested gambling package that would restrict betting advertising. Bateman and others giving evidence against the industry are pushing Labor to reinstate recommendations from the 2023 Murphy report. That cross-party parliamentary inquiry, led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, recommended a ban on gambling advertising and a national gaming regulator.
According to the source, the government's latest regulatory draft includes a full ban on ads during live sports television broadcasts. A Labor spokesperson described the reforms as the "strongest-ever" measures to tackle gambling harms and said the government is focused on strengthening BetStop, the national self-exclusion register.
The spokesperson also pointed to existing rules on inducements. "Direct marketing may only be sent to customers who have provided their consent to receive them," the spokesperson said. These are the government's claims. The source does not say how those rules apply to the conduct Bateman described, and it does not say whether any complaint or investigation has followed his evidence.
What is not known
The source does not identify the firms Bateman dealt with, give dates for the alleged events, or say whether any regulator has been told of them. It also reports no comment from the companies or from the committee about his evidence. Those allegations remain unverified.
Casino.org notes that state and territory governments collect more than $10 billion a year in direct gambling taxes. It presents this as a reason governments have much at stake in the reform debate.
Online casino services remain prohibited in Australia under the Interactive Gambling Act 2001. The conduct described in this hearing concerns wagering on horse racing and NRL matches. Anyone affected by gambling harm can use BetStop, the national self-exclusion register.